India test fires Brahmos / Yakhont cruise missile

The Indian Navy has test fired a Brahmos cruise missile from a warship in the Bay of Bengal. The target ship was hit one meter above the waterline after performing S-type evasive maneuvers.

The Brahmos missile is derived from the Russian Yakhont (SS-N-26) missile, which in turn is the export version of the 3M55 Onyx missile. Its specification are:

• Length: 8.4 m
• Diameter: 0.7 m
• Wingspan: 1.7 m
• Weight: 3000 kg (surface-launched), 2500 kg (air-launched)
• Warhead: 300 kg
• Range: 290 km (Hi-Lo flight profile), 120 km (Lo-Lo flight profile)
• Cruise altitude: 5 m to 14000 m
• Max speed: Mach 2.8

The Brahmos missile is powered by a two-stage, rocket booster and liquid-fuelled ramjet engine.

The Brahmos missile has recently been upgraded with the addition of Russian GLONASS satellite navigation to the existing doppler-inertial system. A further upgrade, the hypersonic Brahmos 2, will be able to reach speeds of Mach 5 and Mach 7.

The Brahmos missile was developed by the Brahmos Aerospace Private Limited, a joint venture between India's Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia.

The name BrahMos is derived from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

The Brahmos missile is currently in service with both the Indian Army and Indian Navy. The Indian Air Force plans to integrate an air-launched version of the Brahmos missile with up to 40 Su-30MKI fighter aircraft.


http://en.rian.ru/military_news/20130109/178664783/India_Tests_Sea-Based_Brahmos_Missile__.html

By One half 3544 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons