India has completed testing of air-launched BrahMos missiles. Yesterday, December 8, the press service of the Ministry of Defense of India reported that the last stage of testing opened the way for the serial production of ammunition in the country.
"The successful launch from the Su-30MKI fighter, carried out at the test site in Chandipur on December 8, opened the possibility for the start of serial production of BrahMos ALCM missiles. The main components of the airframe, which form an integral part of the ramjet engine, are developed by the Indian industry. During the tests, the structural integrity and functional characteristics of the ammunition were confirmed," the press service of the Ministry of Defense of India reported.
BrahMos ALCM missile on the Su-30MKI fighter
Image source: flightglobal.com
The BrahMos Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) is one of the modifications of the BrahMos family of ammunition. The developers call the air-launched BrahMos missiles "the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world." BrahMos ALCM has a warhead weighing about 300 kg and can hit targets at a distance of up to 290 km, reaching speeds of up to 3500 km/h.
BrahMos is a joint product of the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO - Defense Research and Development Organization) and the Russian military Industrial corporation "Scientific and Production Association of Mechanical Engineering", which organized a joint venture BrahMos Aerospace in 1998. Under the name BrahMos, the company develops and produces supersonic rockets capable of reaching speeds of over 3000 km/h. The project is based on the Soviet development of the P-800 Onyx (more precisely, its export version is the Yakhont). Initially, BrahMos was developed as an anti-ship missile, but later its new versions were created that can hit ground and surface targets, starting from stationary and mobile launchers located on the ground, as well as submarines, ships and aircraft.
