BrahMos sea-to-sea missile hits at 500 KM Target
The Indo-Russian sea-to-sea missile BrahMos was subjected to naval tests by the Indian Navy, learned BulgarianMilitary.com, citing Indian sources.
The newest “diamond” in the Indian Navy – the destroyer Visakhapatnam – fired a missile that reached and hit the target with a precision accuracy at a distance of 500 km. This is the maximum range of BrahMos in the sea-sea and land-air versions.
According to the Russian source RIA Novosti, the tested missile was an improved version. According to the Indian Ministry of Defense, this test has shown that the combat capability of the Indian Navy is improving. “Confidence in the readiness of the Indian Navy for a mission is confirmed today after the successful launch of an improved version of the BrahMos missile by the destroyer Visakhapatnam. I congratulate the excellent teamwork of the Indian Navy, the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization, and BrahMos,” said Indian Defense Minister Rajnat Singh in a statement.
The BrahMos cruise missile
The BrahMos missile in its three different versions (land, air, and water) is considered one of the most effective and at the same time highly combat-capable cruise missiles, which is in service in the Indian army. BrahMos is a joint project between Russia and India designed to increase the combat capability of the Indian Army.
BrahMos is a medium-range missile in the category of supersonic developing a maximum flight speed of 2.8 Mach. Depending on its intended purpose, the missile has a different range of action: when launched from a land or sea platform, the missile has a range of 500 km, when launched from an air platform, the range is 400 km. BrahMos has an export version with a maximum range of up to 290 km.
The rocket is powered by two stages – in the first stage it burns solid fuel, and during the second stage it burns liquid fuel thanks to its liquid ramjet engine. BrahMos can fly at an altitude of up to 15 km.
The average value of a BrahMos missile is about $ 2.7 million. Apart from India, the Philippines is the other country to have purchased and adopted the naval version of the BrahMos supersonic missile. Russia is a potential customer, with Moscow believing that the new class of Russian frigates will be able to be armed with this missile. There is a request for a possible purchase from countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Destroyer Visakhapatnam-class
The Visakhapatnam class destroyer is a new class of destroyers capable of carrying cruise missiles. The Indian Navy has ordered four of this class of destroyers, with an average cost of approximately $ 1.2 billion.
India received the first-class destroyer Visakhapatnam-class in November last year, having previously successfully passed all tests for almost a year. The next three of these orders are expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy by the end of 2024.
The ship is powered by 2 x Zorya M36E gas turbines, with 4 × DT-59 reversible gas turbines and 2 × RG-54 gearboxes transmissions. The “heart of the ship” beats with two Bergen / GRSE KVM-diesel engines, each with 9,900 horsepower. The maximum speed at which this type of destroyer can move is 30 knots, and the maximum range as a distance is 4,000 miles.
The ship is equipped with EL / M-2248 MF-STAR multifunction active electronically scanned array, DRDO “Shakti” EW suite, two decoy launchers, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, one artillery gun OTO Melara 76mm, four AK-630 fully automatic naval close-in weapon systems, and two 12.7mm Remote controlled weapon station.
