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BALASORE: The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here on Sunday.
After a vertical lift-off at 12.15 pm from launch pad number three at the ITR, 15 km from here, the surface-to- surface missile rose into the sky leaving behind a ribbon of white smoke, defence sources said.
“The launch was successful but we will have to analyse data for making an evaluation,” a source said.
The launch was carried out from a mobile launcher, with an indigenously built multi-axle Tatra truck serving as the base platform.
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The BrahMos cruise missile was test fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur (AP Photo)
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The trajectory of the missile's flight was tracked by sophisticated instruments and radars on a ship located close to the point of impact in the Bay of Bengal, the sources said.
The BrahMos — named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers — was developed by a joint venture company set up by India and Russia following an agreement signed by the two countries on February 12, 1998. Since its first test on June 12, 2001 from the ITR complex, it has undergone a dozen successful trials.
BrahMos has a range of 290 km with a speed faster than that of sound. It can travel at Mach 2.8 to 3 and carry a conventional warhead of 200 to 300 kg, sources said.
The two-stage missile is powered by a solid propellant booster and a liquid propellant ramjet system. The eight-metre sleek missile, weighing three tonnes, is configured so that it can be launched from land, ships, submarines and fighter aircraft.
The BrahMos was jointly produced by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashnistroyemia under the project named PJ-10. An industrial complex has been set up at Hyderabad to manufacture the missile.
BrahMos Aerospace CEO A Sivathanu Pillai was present during on Sunday's launch. He recently said India was preparing to test the submarine version of the BrahMos by the end of the year.
