<p>Indian-Russian joint venture Brahmos Aerospace Monday test-fired its 290-km range supersonic missile from the yet-to-be commissioned stealth destroyer INS Kolkata off India's west coast here in Karnataka, officials said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"Brahmos' representatives successfully conducted the installation test-firing of the cruise missile from the launcher in coordination with the Mumbai-based Mazagon Dockyard Ltd, which built the warship," a senior naval official told IANS here, about 500 km from Bangalore and 660 km from Mumbai.<br /><br />Though the lead ship in its class was launched in 2006, it has been undergoing sea trials for its commissioning into Indian Navy later this year.<br /><br />"The dockyard will hand over the 6,800-tonne guided missile ship to the navy over the next two-three months after completing all trials for commissioning later this year," the official said.<br /><br />A naval officer, Commander Kuntal Wadhwa, was killed and many workers injured March 7 when a valve on a carbon dioxide bottle malfunctioned during a test of the vessel's fire-fighting unit at the dockyard.<br /><br />"It is a standard procedure to test-fire any weapon onboard the warship to assess its capabilities and operational parameters during trials," the official noted.<br /><br />The destroyer is part of the navy's ambitious Rs.15,000-crore project 15-Alpha series, in which two more warships - INS Kochi and INS Chennai - are being built at the dockyard despite cost overruns and deliveries behind schedule.<br /><br />"The cruise missile has been deployed in many of our warships, including frigates and Russian-made Talwar class vessels," the official added.<br /><br />Brahmos has also developed aerial and land variants of the weapon system for deployment by Indian Air Force and Indian Army.<br /></p>
<p>Indian-Russian joint venture Brahmos Aerospace Monday test-fired its 290-km range supersonic missile from the yet-to-be commissioned stealth destroyer INS Kolkata off India's west coast here in Karnataka, officials said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"Brahmos' representatives successfully conducted the installation test-firing of the cruise missile from the launcher in coordination with the Mumbai-based Mazagon Dockyard Ltd, which built the warship," a senior naval official told IANS here, about 500 km from Bangalore and 660 km from Mumbai.<br /><br />Though the lead ship in its class was launched in 2006, it has been undergoing sea trials for its commissioning into Indian Navy later this year.<br /><br />"The dockyard will hand over the 6,800-tonne guided missile ship to the navy over the next two-three months after completing all trials for commissioning later this year," the official said.<br /><br />A naval officer, Commander Kuntal Wadhwa, was killed and many workers injured March 7 when a valve on a carbon dioxide bottle malfunctioned during a test of the vessel's fire-fighting unit at the dockyard.<br /><br />"It is a standard procedure to test-fire any weapon onboard the warship to assess its capabilities and operational parameters during trials," the official noted.<br /><br />The destroyer is part of the navy's ambitious Rs.15,000-crore project 15-Alpha series, in which two more warships - INS Kochi and INS Chennai - are being built at the dockyard despite cost overruns and deliveries behind schedule.<br /><br />"The cruise missile has been deployed in many of our warships, including frigates and Russian-made Talwar class vessels," the official added.<br /><br />Brahmos has also developed aerial and land variants of the weapon system for deployment by Indian Air Force and Indian Army.<br /></p>