India successfully test-fired the supersonic Brahmos cruise missile from a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet on Wednesday. The sleek missile has been launched from a fighter jet for the first time, and its successful testing bolsters the Indian Air Force’s combat capabilities, the Defence Ministry said.
Brahmos is the world’s fastest supersonic missile, flying at almost three times the speed of sound. On Wednesday, India tested the Brahmos Air Launched Cruise Missile, which weighs 2.5 tonnes and is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on a Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft, the ministry said.
“The missile was tested against a sea-based target in the Bay of Bengal. The missile was gravity dropped from the fuselage of the Sukhoi-30 aircraft,” the ministry said in a statement.
With this test, India is capable of launching the missile from land, sea and air, completing a tactical cruise missile triad. Brahmos is a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, and Russia’s NPOM.
“The marriage between a fighter jet, which has a cruising range of 3,200-km, and the Brahmos, is expected to be a deadly combination,” The Times of India quoted an unidentified defence official as saying.
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