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India test fires supersonic land attack cruise missile
NEW DELHI: India test fired the land attack version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at the Pokharan range in Rajasthan Wednesday, six weeks after its failed test on Jan 20, an official here said. "The analysis of the parameters of the missile flight will take some time," a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) official said while confirming the test firing of the missile.The BrahMos missile, a joint venture of India and Russia, failed its test trial on Jan 20 by missing the target. Since cruise missiles fly at low altitudes, they have the ability to evade enemy radars and air-defence systems. They are also easier and cheaper to operate as precision strike weapons. The Indian Army has already begun inducting the land-fired version of the BrahMos, with the first battery entering service in June 2007. Each battery is equipped with four mobile launchers mounted on heavy 12x12 Tatra transporters. The army plans to induct three more such batteries. The anti-ship naval version has also been inducted into service with its integration on the destroyer INS Rajput, with two other ships of the same class to be similarly equipped. The missiles will also be mounted on the three 7,000 tonne Kolkata class destroyers currently being constructed at Mumbai's Mazagon docks. The missile, which takes its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, has a nearly 300 km range and carries a 300 kg conventional warhead. It can achieve speeds of up to 2.8 Mach or nearly three times the speed of sound. Posted by: john frum 2009-03-04 |
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