Visakhapatnam, March 20
India today successfully carried out the maiden test-firing of the over 290 km-range submarine-launched version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in the Bay of Bengal, becoming the first country in the world to have this capability.

The missile was successfully test-fired from an underwater pontoon, near here, BrahMos CEO A Sivathanu Pillai said.

This is the first test-firing of an underwater supersonic cruise missile anywhere in the world and the missile travelled its complete range of over 290 km, he said.

He said the performance of the missile during the test launch was “perfect”.

Ship and ground-launched versions of the missile have been successfully tested and put into service with the Indian Army and the Navy.

The maiden test of the submarine-launched version of BrahMos comes over a week after indigenously built long-range subsonic cruise missile “Nirbhay” failed to hit its target in its first test.

“BrahMos missile is fully ready to be fitted in submarines in vertical launch configuration which will make the platform one of the most powerful weapon platforms in the world,” Pillai said.

Defence Minister AK Antony congratulated DRDO scientists and Russian specialists along with officers of the Indian Navy associated with the project.

The BrahMos missile is set be the primary weapon for the Navy in the coming years. The Navy had recently test-fired the missile capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg.

While the induction of the first version of BrahMos missile system in the Navy started from 2005 with INS Rajput, it is now fully operational with two regiments of the Army.

The Air Force version of the missile is also said to be ready and work is going on to modify two Russian Sukhoi (Su-30) fighter jets to make the aircraft BrahMos compatible. — PTI