24 Nov, 2016
India and Russia have approved a proposal to double the range of BrahMos, world's fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation.
According to Sputnik International, the agreement to develop a different range of the BrahMos was reached during the annual summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Goa. One of the ranges agreed upon was to double it from current range of 186 miles, which received the final nod on 26 October during a meeting co-chaired by Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu.
The proposal to increase the range of BrahMos was under consideration for a long time and now it has been formalised after India became a member of Missile Technology Control Regime earlier this year. It is said that only minor changes will be enough to extend the range of BrahMos to up to 372 miles.
Currently, BrahMos is capable of hitting targets beyond the radar horizon and can be launched from sea-based and land-based weapon systems. Test fire of an air-launched version of Brahmos cruise missile is expected to be held in February next year. The 2.5-metric-tonne Brahmos air-to-ground missile will be fired from an IAF (Indian Air Force) Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft that has undergone modifications to accommodate the new weapon. A successful preliminary trial has already been carried out, and two more dummy trials are in the pipeline before the actual test.
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