BRAHMOS-A air-launched cruise missile successfully strikes land target.

The BRAHMOS-A air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) being developed by the Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace has successfully destroyed a land target for the first time, Director for Marketing of BrahMos Aerospace Praveen Pathak told TASS.

BRAHMOS missile (Picture source: Anurag)

"On May 22, a Sukhoi Su-30MKI [NATO reporting name: Flanker-H] multirole combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force [IAF] launched a BRAHMOS-A missile against a group target on Car Nicobar Island south-east of India. The weapon has successfully destroyed the target, demonstrating absolute accuracy," said Pathak.

"Today, the formidable BRAHMOS missile has confirmed its capability to precisely strike land targets. The successful launch has obviously demonstrated the unprecedented level of the Indian Air Force’s air power", said India`s Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, commenting the launch.

The first launch of the BRAHMOS-A ALCM was conducted in November 2017. During that test, the weapon successfully destroyed a surface target.

According to Director General - Designer General of NPO Mashinostroyeniya Alexey Leonov, the manufacturing of the first BRAHMOS-A ALCMs is set to be started this year. "This is a large order, the implementation of which will allow the IAF to arm the first 40 Su-30MKI multirole combat aircraft. According to preliminary estimations, the rearmament of the IAF with the new missile will last for several years," said Leonov.

In 2024, the advanced Russian-Indian BRAHMOS-NG ALCM for the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets will enter its trials. "The new weapon will feature a speed of M=3.5 and a launch range of 300 km. Therefore, the BRAHMOS-NG`s speed will exceed that of the BRAHMOS-A. Submarines will also be capable of firing the BRAHMOS-NG through their torpedo tubes," said Leonov.

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