BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile, an extended range sea-to-sea variant has been successfully tested from INS Vishakhapatnam on the western seaboard, which is newly commissioned by the Indian Navy. The ship derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. These are manufactured and produced by BrahMos Aerospace which is a joint venture that was set up between the DRDO and the Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
The missile hit the target precisely at the target ship at the maximum range. DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) has tweeted in this regard saying that the Advanced sea-to-sea variant of the BrahMos Missile was tested today. The naval version of BrahMos was tested in October from the Indian Navy’s indigenously built INS Chennai and in December 2020 from the Rajput class destroyer INS Ranvijay. The success of the test-firing is a tremendous twin achievement by the Indian Navy. It registers the accuracy of the ship’s combat system and armament complex. It also validates the new capabilities of the missile.
The BrahMos has been deployed by the Indian Navy since 2005 in its frontline warships. It has the capability to hit sea-based targets much beyond their radar horizon. The Naval versions were tested successfully from time to time in sea-to-sea and sea-to-land modes. This ship can be launched as a single unit and also in a salvo up to 8 in numbers with 2.5-second intervals in between each of these. These salvos are capable of hitting and destroying a group of targets that have been fitted with the modern missile defense systems.
BrahMos will be used as a prime-strike weapon for the ships and will increase the ships’ capability of engaging with the naval-surface targets at long ranges as well. The initial version was first tested in 2001. Since then, various types of BrahMos have been developed and successfully tested including the ones which can be fired from land, submarines, warships, and Sukhoi-30 fighter jets as well. The INS Vishakhapatnam which is a P15B missile destroyer was commissioned in November last year by the Indian Navy. the introduction of the first four Vishakhapatnam class destroyers was also done at that time. The other four upcoming ships are called INS Mormugao, INS Imphal, and INS Surat. These are designed by indigenously designed by the Directorate of Naval Design and were manufactured by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited located in Mumbai.
This is a proud moment for the nation and the Indian Navy specifically. This is a significant development in the Make in India vision launched by the government of India.
