Syllabus Section: Security/Defence technology

WHY IN NEWS?

• India’s Armed forces – Army, Navy and Air Force- are conducting back to back tests of various version of BrahMos missile.

ABOUT BRAHMOS MISSILE:

• It derives its name from the combination of Brahmaputra (India) and Moskva (Russia) rivers.

• It is designed, developed and produced by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture company setyp by DRDO and Mashinostroyenia (DRDO).

• It is two-stage missile with solid propellant booster and liquid ramjet as the secondstage.

• Cruise missiles like Bramhos  are type of systems known as the ‘standoff range weapons’ which are fired from a range sufficient to allow the attacker to evade defensive fire from the adversary.

• The first test launch of the initial version BrahMosh took place in 2001.

• The Indian Navy began inducting BrahMos on its frontline warships from 2005.

• Recent launch of Indian navy is BrahMosAShM(Anti Ship Missile) by INS Ranvijay.

SIGNIFICANCE OF HAVING LAND, SEA AND AIR-LAUNCHED BRAHMOS

LAND-BASED SYSTEM:

• The land attack version of BrahMos has the capability of cruising at 2.8Mach speed.

• With the upgraded capability the missile can hit targets at a range upto 400 kilometers with precision.

• Advanced versions of range above, 1,000 kilometers and speed upto 5Mach are to be under development.

• It has four to six mobile autonomous launchers. With each having three missiles on board that can be fired almost simultaneously.

SHIP-BASED SYSTEM:

• It has capability to hit sea-based target beyond radar horizon.

• The Brahmos from ship can be launched as a single unit or in a salvo upto eight in numbers separated by 2.5 seconds intervals.

• These salvo can hit and destroy a group of frigates having modern missile defence systems

AIR LAUNCHED VERSION:

• In Nov 2017, Brahmos was successfully  flight-tested for the first time from IAF frontline fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30MKI against sea based target.

• BrahMos equipped Sukhoi-30s are considered as a key strategic deterrence for the adversaries both along the land borders and in the strategically important Indian Ocean Region.

SUBMARINE LAUNCHED VERSION:

• It has capability of being launched from around 50 meters below the water surface.

Source: PIB