BrahMos test-fired successfully
The Hindu (April 22, 2007) Print This NewsChennai: Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, jointly developed by India and Russia, was successfully test-fired on Sunday from a mobile launcher from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea, about 10 km from Balasore, in Orissa.
The14th test flight of BrahMos was in the Army configuration. It travelled a distance of 290 km in 290 seconds.
A highlight was a manoeuvre by the missile in its terminal stage. The manoeuvring was important from the operational point of view because the missile would deviate from its path and strike the enemy tangentially, informed defence sources said.
In the test-firing in February, BrahMos performed a "S" manoeuvre in the initial stage of the flight.
`Perfect flight'
Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace Limited, said from Chandipur-on-sea that it was "a perfect flight and that it was a 100 per cent success." It had a perfect textbook trajectory.
Dr. Pillai said: "Today, BrahMos is supreme with its operational capability and high manoeuvring trajectory. It is the only supersonic cruise missile in the world, which can surprise the enemy with its speed, power and precision. It has no equivalent."
The launch was witnessed by Lt. Gen. B.S. Pawar, Commandant, School of Artillery, Deolali; Maj.Gen.V.K. Chaturvedi, Deputy Director General of Artillery, and several top Army officers.
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Defence Minister A.K Antony spoke to Dr. Pillai over the phone and congratulated the BrahMos team on the successful test.
BrahMos is a two-stage missile. It is nine metres tall and weighs 3.9 tonnes with the canister. It can reach a speed of 3 Mach and has a range of 290 km. It can be launched from ships, silos and road and rail mobile launchers.
It can carry a conventional warhead weighing 300 kg. The Project Director for the flight was S. Som.
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