Indian Air Force has conducted first *extended range* test of BrahMos-A
supersonic cruise missile from a Su-30MKI over the Bay of Bengal
Viewers may note that a NO-TAM of 670 Km or 416 miles was already issued by Indian Air Force
The Missile precisely hit the target ship in the Bay of Bengal which led to its sinking.
Indian Air Force stated,
“The extended-range capability of the missile coupled with the high performance of the
Sukhoi gives the IAF a strategic reach and allows it to dominate future battlefields”
In this video Defense Updates analyze why India’s successful test of BrahMos-A Extended Range is a
key capability boost ? Let’s get started.
Brahmos is developed jointly by India's Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) and
Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya. It is powered by a Ramjet engine.
Brahmos is currently considered to be one of the most deadly cruise missiles
in the world. The reason is its unique features.
1. It has a supersonic speed of Mach 3 or 1 km per second providing very little time to intercept.
2. BrahMos uses a 300 kg or 660 lbs Semi-Armor piercing warhead and also has very high
Kinetic energy since Kinetic energy is directly proportional to the square of velocity. BrahMos
actually has about 9 times the Kinetic Energy of conventional subsonic missiles like Tomahawk.
The combined destructive force of massive warhead and kinetic energy is lethal for even the biggest
surface warships & bunkers. BrahMos has been known to break ships in half in several tests.
3. It can perform S maneuvers in the final stages of flight. The missile basically doesn’t move in a
straight line, making it very hard to intercept. 4. There are lots of redundancies in the
guidance system - right from the INS, GPS, GLONASS and GAGAN making it hard to jam.
5. The accuracy of around 1 square meter makes it apt for a precision strike on high-value targets.
India was earlier not part of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Russia
could not help or jointly develop a missile with a none MTCR nation like India, whose range is
more than 300 km or about 186 miles. But India has entered MTCR in 2016.
After this, India tested an ER or Extended Range version of land launched Brahmos.
The latest test is of BrahMos-A ER which is the air launched variant. As per the reports,
it has a range of 450 km or about 280 miles.
BrahMos-A is a modified variant of its basic configuration and
is specifically designed for air launch.
It features several design refinements, which include a lighter propulsion system,
weight reduction as well as redesigned fins and nose caps.
Though BrahMos-A is lighter than the original BrahMos, it is still a heavy missile,
and integration with a fighter aircraft required many changes that
included strengthening the Su-30 MKI airframe, particularly its underbelly weapons station,
the addition of new hard points and modification of cockpit controls.
On June 25, 2016, a modified Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30 MKI aircraft carried a BrahMos-A.
This is the first time in the world that such a heavyweight supersonic cruise missile was
integrated into a fighter aircraft. The twin-seat multirole fighter took
off and conducted a 45-minute sortie with the missile attached to its underbelly.
Sukhoi Su-30MKI is the backbone of the Indian Air Force and it has around 200 of these.
It is a twin-seater, twin-engine fighter, developed by Russian aircraft maker
Sukhoi and licensed-built in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
It has abilities similar to the Sukhoi Su-35 with which it shares many features and components.
Su-30MKI is a multi-role fighter capable of
executing both air-to-air and air-to-land attack missions.
It is interesting to note that the MKI version of the Su-30 includes Israeli and French avionics.
For example, the aircraft is fitted with a French-made heads-up display system
and Israeli-made electronic warfare system and an advanced targeting pod.
As per reports, 42 Sukhoi, have been modified to equip BrahMos-A
Chinese ships have often been spotted gathering information in the Bay of Bengal.
This indicates that China wants to expand its sphere of influence
in these waters like it has done in the South China Sea.
The People's Liberation Army Navy is expanding fast and its warships are getting bigger.
Its latest class of destroyer, Type 055 is an example of China’s growing naval might.
To counter this, in January 2020 Indian Air Force commissioned the 222 “Tiger Sharks” squadron
consisting of modified Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter jets in Thanjavur armed with Brahmos A missiles.
The specialist squadron that has a maritime role is also known as
the ‘dominator of the Indian Ocean Region'.
BrahMos is a deadly weapon and as demonstrated multiple times in tests,
a single hit from this weapon is enough to sink or cripple a large warship.
With the test, the IAF has achieved a significant capability boost to carry out
precision strikes from Sukhoi against targets on land and at sea over very long ranges.