In a spur of rapid testing and eagerness in accessing operational preparedness of weapons, India conducted another Brahmos missile test on Sunday, but this time at the hands of the Indian Navy.
The missile was fired from INS Chennai, a Kolkata-class stealth destroyer, and hit its target with pin-point accuracy after performing “extremely complex” maneuvers, officials told Times of India.
The test was performed to assess the enhanced features of Brahmos’ naval variant. The test secures the invincibility of Indian vessels in IOR since the Brahmos is considered the world’s most accurate and fastest supersonic cruise missile in operation today. India has maximized Brahmos’ potential by diversifying its reach and use in all branches of Indian armed forces.
The missile project was made possible by India’s joining the 34-nation Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) alliance, since Brahmos is a joint venture between India and Russia. MTCR didn’t allow the development of missiles beyond the operational range of 300 km, but has since lifted the restriction on missiles developed with Russia, allowing Brahmos to achieve a 450 km range.
India plans to increase the range beyond 600 km, making it an even more lethal weapon against adversaries. Brahmos is famed for its use on land, air, and sea platforms successfully, making it the only cruise missile with Mach 3 velocity to be used on all three branches of any armed forces around the world.
India had previously tested the air-launched version of Brahmos called as “Brahmos-A” on IAF’s Frontline fighter jet Su-30MKI, followed by the land-launched Brahmos with vertical steep dive feature.
Recently India also tested Rudram-1 Anti Radiation Missile at 250km range, adding India to a list of few nations that have designed and developed an Anti-Radiation Missile.
With the ever-increasing need to operationalize the various ongoing weapon development projects with DRDO, India is gearing up all necessary projects’ completion to fill its stockpile of conventional weapons. Expanding its arsenal allows India to be ready for any unpredicted scenario — especially with Indian armed forces fortifying their administered region on Line of Actual Control (LAC).
With hosting nearly a dozen tests of various range of missiles and drones in less than two months of timeframe, India is clear with its policy against adversaries — including China — that no action threatening Indian sovereignty will be tolerated.
