New Brahmos variant successfully tested

A BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with a strike-range of 290 km was on Thursday successfully test-fired in a vertical launch configuration for the first time by the Indian Navy.

With this launch, BrahMos has become the world's first and only supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from both vertical and inclined positions from naval platforms.

"BrahMos missile was successfully test fired in vertical-launch configuration from an Indian Navy ship in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday," Defence Ministry sources said in New Delhi.

The test, the sources said, was carried out at noon from a moving Rajdoot class warship. The vertical launcher used in the test has been designed and developed by the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Corporation.

"The test has proved and demonstrated the new universal vertical launcher designed and developed by the Corporation," they said, adding, "The mission objectives of the test were fully achieved."        

The launch, carried out in presence of senior Navy officers and DRDO scientists, will give a boost to the future deployment of BrahMos in the naval platforms, they said.

"This will give a boost to ongoing programme of future ship installation for the missile. It will be installed in vertical launch configuration in all the future ships of the Indian Navy. This will include the both ships under construction and the ones who come back to shipyards for refurbishment," the sources added.

Indian Navy's second line of Talwar Class ships, under construction in Russia's Kaliningrad Shipyard, will also be equipped with new universal vertically launcher modules.

"Indian Navy's second line of Talwar Class ships, known as the 1135.6 Class in Russia, will also have these vertical launchers," the sources said.

BrahMos has already been inducted in INS Rajput ship in inclined configuration and its land launched version is also in service with the Indian Army.

The IAF is carrying out structural modifications on the Su-30MKI aircraft to develop an air launched version of the missile.

Attempts of integrating the missile in submarines are also on at Russian shipyards.

During the recent visit of Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to India, both sides agreed on developing a hypersonic version of the missile to be known as BrahMos-2.