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BrahMos cruise missile misses target during test
Chennai, India: A software glitch during the terminal stage of the flight of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos on Tuesday led to the missile falling short of its target. The Army fired the missile at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan.It was a modified BrahMos with a new software to make it more intelligent and hit a given target (a structure) out of a number of small buildings but it missed the target, said A. Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace. Two regiments of the Army already have Block I version of the missile. BrahMos Aerospace had come up with a Block II version without changing the missiles major systems that were proven in the previous 17 flights. But the Block II version had new software to improve the missiles operational capability. The software aimed at making the missile more intelligent so that it possessed a sense of discrimination. In other words, it would select the given target out of a number of small targets and pulverise it. Dr. Pillai said the missile had a beautiful take-off and performed well but a problem occurred in the new software. So the target was not hit. It just missed the target. When we do something new, it can go either way, he pointed out. The flight involved a lot of terminal-stage manoeuvres, which were difficult to perform at a supersonic speed of nearly three times the speed of sound. The issue, which was identified and analysed, was not serious. The new algorithm has to be re-validated through many simulation runs and we will get foolproof software so that such complicated mission requirements are met We are confident that we will do another launch within a month. Asked about a similar mission being successful in a previous flight at the Pokhran range, Dr. Pillai said the targets then were bigger buildings. But in this mission, the missile had to pick and hit a small, hidden building out of multiple targets. Dr. Pillai denied that the missile was reconfigured to carry nuclear warheads. It would carry only conventional warheads, he asserted. Posted by: john frum 2009-01-21 |
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