IAF to test-fire advanced version of BrahMos cruise missile before the end of 2018

Indian Air Force (IAF) will test fire an advanced version of the supersonic BrahMos Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) before the end of 2018. IAF has already started the process of mounting BrahMos on its frontline Sukhoi Su-30MKI air superiority fighters and the plan is to integrate the cruise missile on 40 jets.

"Before the end of this year, the air-launched cruise missile BrahMos will be tested taking into account the new, expanded demands of the Indian Air Force command. It will have advanced characteristics, including those related to manoeuvering capability," BrahMos Aerospace Joint Managing Director Alexander B Maksichev told Russian news website Sputnik on Wednesday. According to Maksichev the drop tests of BrahMos cruise missiles have been conducted in which all the parameters were met and the results were "excellent."

The IAF is likely to start receiving the air-launched version of BrahMos for its twinjet multirole SU-30MKI fighters in 2019. All the 40 Su-30MKI will be configured to carry three BrahMos missiles each. 

BrahMos, the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile, was successfully test-fired for the first time from a Su-30MKI jet against a sea-based target in the Bay of Bengal on November 22, 2017. The test also made the IAF the first air force in the world to test a supersonic cruise missile from an air platform.

According to senior IAF officers, the Brahmos Air ALCM will significantly bolster the force's air combat operations capability from stand-off ranges. Brahmos ALCM weighing 2.5 ton is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on India’s Su-30MKI aircraft modified by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to carry such weapons.

Brahmos, the world-class weapon with multi-platform, multi-mission role is now capable of being launched from land, sea and air, completing the tactical cruise missile triad for India.

The 2.5-ton missile flies almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8 and has a range of 290 km. The range of the missile, an India-Russia joint venture, can be extended up to 400 km as certain technical restrictions were lifted after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016.