Context:
A naval version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired in the Arabian Sea.
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- The missile was fired from an indigenously developed stealth destroyer, INS Chennai.
- BrahMos, as prime strike weapon, will ensure the warship’s invincibility by engaging naval surface targets at long ranges.
- The BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russia joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms.
INS Chennai:
- It is the third indigenously designed guided-missile destroyer in the Kolkata class.
- It is armed with supersonic surface-to-surface BrahMos missiles and Barak-8 long-range surface-to-air missiles.
- It is powered by a combined gas and gas (COGAG) propulsion system that includes four Zorya-Mashproekt DT-59 reversible gas turbines.
BrahMos Missile:
- Brahmos is named on the rivers Brahmaputra (India) and Moskva (Russia).
- It is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO) and the NPOM of Russia.
- It is the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile.
- It travels at a speed of Mach 2.8 (nearly three times the speed of sound).
- It is a multiplatform i.e it can be launched from land, air, and sea and multi capability missile with pinpoint accuracy that works in both day and night irrespective of the weather conditions.
- It is, therefore, used by all three forces, the Army, Navy, and the Air Force.
Features:
- The missile features an indigenous Booster and Airframe Section, along with many other indigenous sub-systems.
- It operates on the “Fire and Forget” principle i.e it does not require further guidance after launch.
- BrahMos is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft, with a weight of 2.5 tonnes.
- Its range has been recently enhanced from 300 Km to 450-600 Km,
- Increasing the missile’s range became possible after India’s induction into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June 2016.
Source: The Hindu
