The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday said it has successfully test-fired an extended-range version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi fighter jet in the Bay of Bengal.
News agency ANI quoted the IAF as saying that the launch from the Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet was as planned and the missile hit the target set in the Bay of Bengal region directly.
The range of the upgraded version of this BrahMos missile has been increased to about 350 km from the original 290 km.
This was the first launch of the extended range version of the BrahMos missile from a Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“The launch from the aircraft was as planned and the missile hit the target directly in the Bay of Bengal region,” the ministry said.
“With this test fire, the Indian Air Force has acquired the capability to carry out precision strikes from Su-30MKI aircraft against land/sea targets at very long ranges.
The ministry said that the dedicated and synergistic efforts of IAF, Indian Navy, Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have proved the nation’s capability to achieve this feat. have make. ,
The missile’s extended range capability coupled with the high performance of the Su-30MKI aircraft gives the IAF a strategic reach and allows it to dominate the war zones of the future.
The BrahMos missile flies at a speed of Mach 2.8 or nearly three times the speed of sound.
On 19 April, the IAF successfully test-fired a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi fighter jet off the eastern seaboard. The IAF had conducted ‘live firing’ in close coordination with the Indian Navy. According to the IAF, the missile directly hit an Indian Navy ship.
In the year 2016, the Government of India decided to integrate the air-launched version of BrahMos into over 40 Sukhoi fighter jets.
The project was envisioned to enhance the capability of the IAF to strike any target at sea or on land from a large stand-off range.