Army test fires advanced version of BrahMos missile

The Indian Army Monday test-fired an advanced version of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in Rajasthan, piercing the designated concrete structure.

"An advanced version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system was successfully test fired at the Pokhran test range," an official said.

The Block III variant of BrahMos with deep penetration capability was launched from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL) deployed in full configuration with the mobile command post (MCP).

The missile followed the predetermined trajectory and successfully pierced the designated concrete structure at bull's eye.

"The launch has successfully validated the deep penetration capability of the supersonic cruise missile system against hardened targets," the official said.

The test firing was witnessed by officers of the Indian Army apart from officials from the defence ministry, the Defence Research Development Organisation and BrahMos Aerospace.

The Block III variant of land-attack BrahMos has already established its credence in achieving supersonic steep dive with precision strike capability in mountain operations.

The 290-km BrahMos flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach and carries a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg. The missile can be launched from multiple platforms including land, sea, sub-sea and air.

Both the army and navy have inducted the missile in service while its air version is scheduled to be flight tested by the Indian Air Force soon.