Balasore (Orissa), June 13
Brahmos, the supersonic cruise missile which is part of an Indo-Russian joint venture, was today successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, 15 km from here, defence sources said.
The missile was fired from a mobile launcher at 12.15 pm amidst incessant rains caused by a deep depression in the sea along the Orissa coast, the sources said.
Jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russian organisation NPO Mashinostroyenia, the surface-to-surface version of the eight metre-long missile weighing three tonnes can hit a target at a distance of up to 290 km.
After proving its precision guidance capability during testfires conducted earlier, the surface-to-surface version of the Brahmos — the name is derived from India's Brahmaputra river and Russia's Moskova river — was test launched today to check its other parameters, the sources said.
Basically an anti-ship missile which could be modified for operations in air and on land, Brahmos has a speed of mach 2.8 and can carry a conventional warhead weighing about 300 kg.
— PTI
