Preparation for the crucial user associate trial of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos is near complete. The missile would be test-fired by the Army from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Odisha coast on Sunday.
Defence sources said the test would be conducted to prove the missile’s ability to manoeuvre at supersonic speed before hitting a target. Other parameters set by the user would also be proved during the trial.
A senior defence official said the launching complex-III of the ITR is ready for the test. If everything goes according to the plan and weather permitting, the weapon would definitely be launched on Sunday. “Since it is the land version of the missile, a clear weather is required to track its projectile properly,” he said.
Developed in a joint venture with Russia, the sophisticated BrahMos cruise missile is capable of being launched from submarines, ships, aircraft and land-based Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL).
The trial is significant for the scientists of the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited as a successful test would pave the way for the maiden launch of the submarine version of the missile, which may take place within the next few months.
One regiment of the BrahMos-I variant, consisting of 67 missiles, five mobile autonomous launchers on 12x12 Tatra vehicles and two mobile command posts among other equipment is already operational in the Army.
Similarly, the Navy has started inducting the first version of BrahMos missile system in all its frontline warships. Army, on its part, is set to induct two more regiments of the BrahMos Block-II land-attack cruise missiles, designed as precision strike weapons capable of hitting small targets in cluttered urban environments.
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