The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday successfully test fired the air-launched version of the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, developed jointly by India and Russia for its frontline Su-30 MKI fighter jet.
It is the second test of a BrahMos missile after the IAF became the first air force in the world to have successfully fired a 2.8 Mach surface attack missile of this category on a sea target on 22 November 2017.
“The launch from the aircraft was smooth and the missile followed the desired trajectory before directly hitting the land target”, the IAF, which had postponed the test due to a cyclone in April, said.
The IAF stated that the firing could be successfully undertaken with dedicated support from the Indian Navy by way of ensuring the availability of a large number of monitoring ships to guarantee safety clearance for the range.
Sources said that the missile will undergo final developmental or certification trials in the third quarter of 2019. The missile will be inducted into the IAF in 2020 following two certified launches against a naval and a ground target.
The IAF emphasised that the air version of the BrahMos missile provides a much desired capability “to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target at sea or on land with pinpoint accuracy by day or night and in all weather conditions”.