An extended range version of the BrahMos supersonic missile was successfully test fired from a Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft today.
"The launch from the aircraft was as planned and the missile achieved a direct hit on the designated target in the Bay of Bengal region," the defence ministry said in a statement.
BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.
The range of the advanced version of the missile is learnt to have been extended to around 350 km from the original 290 km.
This was the first instance of the extended range version of the missile being fired from a Su-30MKI aircraft. The extended-range capability of the missile coupled with the high performance of the Su-30MKI aircraft gives the Indian Air Force a strategic reach and allows it to dominate future battlefields.
"With this (test-firing), the IAF has achieved the capability to carry out precision strikes from Su-30MKI aircraft against a land/ sea target over very long ranges," the ministry said.
Last month, the Indian Navy successfully test-fired an anti-ship version of the Brahmos missile.
AdvertisementBrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russian joint venture, produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.
