India successfully test-fired advanced version of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile

India on 9 May 2015 successfully conducted the 48th test firing of the BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile from the Car Nicobar Islands in Andaman and Nicobar.

The advanced version of the land-to-land configuration of BrahMos Block-III version was test-fired from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL) for its full-range of 290 km.

Features of BrahMos Missile
• It is the first supersonic cruise missile known to be in service and is capable of carrying a conventional and nuclear warhead of 300 kilogram.
• It is a two-stage missile having Solid propellant in the first stage and Ramjet liquid propellant in the second stage.
• It can be launched from land, Sea, Sub-seas and air.
• It operates on Fire and Forget Principle by adopting varieties of flights on its way to the target.
• It approaches the enemy target with a top speed of Mach 2.8; which is about three times faster than the US subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.
• The missile has been developed by the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited. It is a joint venture between Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroeyenia and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the missile derives its name from the names of two rivers, namely the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
• While the BrahMos Weapon Complex (BWC) first version was inducted in the Indian Navy in 2005 on board the INS Rajput and the first regiment of BrahMos missile Block (A1) with the formation of N816 missiles was inducted into the Army in 2007; the air version of the missile is still in the testing stage.

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