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Brahmos, which operates on the fire-and-forget principle, was launched in clear weather at 1105 IST from the ITR's launch complex #3.
The 8m long missile was launched vertically from a container that can be carried on a ship or submarine and, with modifications, on an aircraft, official sources said.
Launched from a ship, the missile can fly at a height of up to 14km at Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound). It carries a 200kg conventional warhead, is charged by solid propellant and has a pre-set trajectory. But a sensor in its head detects the target and can change course to strike 20km from the targeted range.
Brahmos can also fly close to the surface, but that shortens its range to 120km.
Brahmos, which has a diameter of 670mm and weighs 3 tonnes, is a product of an Indo-Russian joint venture known by the same name. The company was set up by an inter-governmental agreement signed in February 1998 by India and Russia to jointly design, develop, produce and market a supersonic cruise missile.
The two institutions that form the backbone of the company are India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Scientific Research Institute of Machine Building, Moscow.
The missile was last test-fired on June 12, 2001, from the ITR.
PTI
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