Thaindian News

Bhubaneswar, July 29 (IANS) India Sunday successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a defence base in Odisha, an official said. It has a range of 290 km and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg.

The missile was launched from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in Balasore district, about 230 km from here. “It was an experimental repeat of a previous version,” M.V.K.V. Prasad, director of the test range, told IANS.

The missile has a top speed of Mach 2.8, which is about three times faster than the US subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile. This makes BrahMos one of the fastest cruise missiles in the world.

The missile can be launched from submarines, ships and aircraft. Sea and ground launched versions of the missile have been successfully tested and put into service with the army and navy.

It was the 32nd flight test of the BrahMos. The latest test was carried out at about 10.30 a.m.

“The objective of the mission was to evaluate some of the newer subsystems which are produced from the Indian industry as part of production stabilisation. More than 25 such systems were incorporated in the development missile”, BrahMos Aerospace spokesperson Praveen Pathak told IANS.

The latest launch was primarily aimed at testing the new power systems, materials for airframe components, guidance scheme and various electric systems. The data obtained from multiple telemetry stations of ITR are being analysed for large scale production by the Indian industries, he added.