10.2.14

Of BrahMos + Sukhoi30MKI....

India will begin testing its deadliest conventional missile, the 290 km supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, from its most potent fighter jet, the heavy-duty Sukhoi-30MKI, by the end of this year.
After the Army and Navy, IAF is now gearing up to induct the BrahMos missile which flies at Mach 2.8, almost three times the speed of sound. A tactical or non-nuclear missile touted to be the best in its class in the world, with “nine times more kinetic energy than sub-sonic missiles”, BrahMos is jointly produced by India and Russia.
Sources said IAF has placed a Rs.6,516 crore order for the air launched BrahMos missile. With the Army having already inducted three Brah-Mos regiments and the Navy having installed the missiles on six warships till now, including the latest stealth frigates, BrahMos is fast becoming the missile of choice for the armed forces for its sheer lethality and precision-strike capabilities.
The missile’s Block-III version, which will constitute the 4th regiment, has “trajectory maneuver and steep dive capabilities” to take out targets hidden behind mountain ranges. The government has also approved the deployment of BrahMos missiles in Arunachal Pradesh to counter China’s huge build of military infrastructure all along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control.
IAF is progressively basing its Sukhoi-30MKI “air dominance” fighters both on the western and eastern fronts to add to the dissuasive posture against Pakistan and China. Pune and Bareilly already have two Sukhoi squadrons each, while one each is based in Tezpur, Chabua, Halwara and Jodhpur.

No comments: