BrahMos: The World’s Fastest Cruise Missile In Operation

Hello, Warriors! BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test fired from on board guided missile destroyer INS Kochi off the western coast. The “successful” test culminated in the missile hitting the target successfully. The target was a decommissioned ship, Alleppey, in the Arabian sea.

The supersonic cruise missile is the fastest cruise missile in operation in the world.

The idea to develop an Indian cruise missile became crystallised after the 1991 Gulf War when the American Tomahawk cruise missiles crippled Iraq’s command and communication centres, leaving its armed forces exposed to air attacks. That a few hundred cruise missiles could isolate the 1.2 million-strong Iraqi military in the space of a few hours was a wake-up call for India’s defence planners. And hence, BrahMos was born.

Here are the facts you need to know about BrahMos:

1. It travels at a speed of Mach 2.8 to 3.0. That means it propagates at about three times the speed of sound.
2. Named after two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia, the missile has been jointly developed by India and Russia’s DRDO and NPO Mashinostroeyenia respectively. It has been in service with the Indian Navy since 2005.
3. It can be launched from the air or the sea, either horizontally or vertically, which makes it very versatile and adaptable.
4. As the primary attack weapon, BrahMos will engage naval surface targets at long ranges very accurately.
5. It consists of an advanced guided system incorporating high manoeuvres and steep dive capabilities.
6. It has an air breathing ramjet propulsion which makes it fuel efficient and economical apart from making it supersonic.
7. The supersonic missile is capable of carrying conventional warheads of up to 300 kg for a range of 290 km.
8. The next generation of the missile, named BrahMos – II for the while will be able to fly at hypersonic speeds, at up to seven times the speed of sound, making it nearly impossible to halt.
9. Termed as universal missile for multiple platforms, it is to be fired and forgotten, having pinpoint accuracy and high lethal power.
10. A smaller version called Brahmos-NG, which was earlier called Brahmos-M, is also being made which is smaller, but is as fast and has the same range as that of BrahMos. As a result, fighter planes like Su-30 Mki and Mig-29K can carry more than one missile at the same time.

And the best part is that BrahMos is four times faster and is twice as heavier than US’ Tomahawk missile. BrahMos has 32 times the initial kinetic energy of a Tomahawk missile. India and Russia intend to make 2,000 BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles over the next 10 years.