India’s armed forces successfully test launched a BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile, developed jointly with Russia, from the country’s newest warship INS Kolkata, the PTI news agency reported Monday quoting Indian defense officials.
The missile-launch took place earlier this morning off the west coast of India near the Karwar military base in Karnataka. During the test all the requirements were met, the officials said.
The missile was created by the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace founded in 1998 by the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization and Russian rocket design bureau Mashinostroyeniya. The venture was named after two rivers, the Brahmaputra in India and Russia’s Moskva.
Deliveries of BrahMos missiles to the Indian Armed Forces started in 2005. BrahMos, which is the world’s fastest cruise missile in operation, can travel at speeds of up to Mach 3. The missile has a maximum range of 290 km and can carry a warhead of up to 300 kg.
Ground and sea trials of the missile have already been successful. The BrahMos is expected to be deployed with Su-30MKI fighter-bombers jointly developed by Russia’s Sukhoi Design Bureau and India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Air Force.
