India test-fires advanced version of BrahMos missile

India on Tuesday successfully test-fired the sea-to-sea variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a navy warship off its western coast

The missile was launched from the Indian Navy destroyer INS Vishakhapatnam off the western coast. With tension between India and China escalating over the 21-month-long military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the successful launch of the advanced version of the BrahMos missile from the INS Vishakhapatnam had “reconfirmed the robustness of the mission readiness” of the Indian Navy.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) stated that the missile hit the designated target ship precisely during the test.

The BrahMos is a Joint Venture between India and Russia for the development, production and marketing of the supersonic cruise missile. The air version of the missile was successfully test-fired from the supersonic fighter aircraft Sukhoi 30 MK-I on December 8 last.

The surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile featuring indigenous booster and airframe Section along with many other ‘Made in India’ sub-systems was successfully flight tested for designated range on September 30 in 2020.

The DRDO on Tuesday also successfully flight tested the final deliverable configuration of the Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM). The indigenously developed anti-tank missile is a low weight, “fire and forget” missile and is launched from a man-portable launcher, integrated with thermal sight. The missile impacted the designated target and destroyed it. The final impact event was captured on camera and the test has validated the minimum range successfully.

The test of the MPATGM was to prove the consistent performance for the minimum range and all the mission objectives were met, the Ministry of Defence stated in New Delhi. The missile has a miniaturised infrared imaging seeker and advanced avionics for onboard control and guidance. The missile performance has been proven for the maximum range in earlier test trials.

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