DRDO test fires two versions of Brahmos supersonic cruise missile

India on Tuesday successfully conducted separate trials of two variants of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos to check its capability to hit targets with precision and accuracy, Defence sources said.

A land-attack version of the missile was test-launched from a mobile autonomous launcher at Launch Pad-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here at around 8.30 am.

Its air force variant was fired in the afternoon when a fighter jet of the IAF flew from Kalaikunda airbase and launched the missile towards an air-borne target over the Bay of Bengal near here.

The trials, carried out to check the capability of the missile to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy, were successful, meeting all the parameters, a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) source said.

The BrahMos missile is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from submarines, warships, fighter jets or land. The 2.5-tonne missile has a strike range of nearly 300 kilometres.

The first extended version of the missile with a strike range of 450 km was successfully tested on March 11, 2017, Defence sources said.

A shorter range land-attack version of the BrahMos was earlier successfully test-fired from the ITR at Chandipur on September 30, 2019.

Similarly, the IAF had conducted successful trials of BrahMos missiles from Trak Island in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on October 22 this year.

BrahMos is a joint venture of the DRDO of India and the NPOM of Russia.

The missile is operational with the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

The BrahMos is regarded as the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world, the sources said adding that it has established itself as a major force multiplier in modern warfare with its land-attack and anti-ship capabilities with multi-role and multi-platform abilities.