BRAHMOS MISSILE: TESTING OF NAVAL VERSION

WHY IN NEWS?

A naval version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired from an indigenously built stealth destroyer (INS Chennai) of the Indian Navy in the Arabian Sea.

KEY POINTS

BrahMos: It is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO) and the NPOM of Russia.
Brahmos is named on the rivers Brahmaputra (India) and Moskva (Russia).
It is a supersonic missile travelling at a speed of Mach 2.8 (nearly three times the speed of sound)
It is the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile.
It is a multiplatform i.e it can be launched from land, air, and sea and multi capability missile with pinpoint accuracy that works in both day and night irrespective of the weather conditions.
It is, therefore, used by all three forces, the Army, Navy and the Air Force.
It operates on the “Fire and Forget” principle i.e it does not require further guidance after launch.
It is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft, with a weight of 2.5 tonnes.
Its range has been recently enhanced from 300 Km to 450-600 Km,
Increasing the missile’s range became possible after India’s induction into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June 2016.
The missile features indigenous Booster and Airframe Section, along with many other indigenous sub-systems.

ADVANTAGES:

BrahMos has been deployed in Ladakh as well as the Eastern Sector in Arunachal Pradesh to tackle any threats in the ongoing standoff with China.
Enhanced use of indigenous technologies will give a boost to India’s AtmaNirbhar Bharat.
Increasing indigenous content in defence systems has also been a prime focus of Defence Acquisition Procedure, 2020 and draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020.