India Test fired World’s First Supersonic BrahMos missile from Underwater Platform

India on 20 March 2013 successfully test fired its submarine-launched version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile of the over 290 km-range in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of the southern port city of Visakhapatnam.

The launch of Missile is counted as the first test-firing of an underwater supersonic cruise missile anywhere in the world. The missile travelled its complete range of over 290 km.

Earlier in last few years, Ship and ground-launched versions of the missile have been successfully tested and put into service with the Indian Army and the Navy.

The missile took off vertically from the submerged following a pre-defined trajectory, the missile emerged from underwater, took a turn towards the designated target meeting all mission objectives. All the telemetry and tracking stations, including Indian naval ships positioned throughout the flight path, confirmed the pin-point accuracy of the mission.

Specifications about BRAHMOS Missile

• BRAHMOS vertically installed in a modular launcher in the pressure hull of the submarine will increase the 'offensive power' of the vessel without compromising on its 'defensive power' as the torpedo tubes can be fully utilised for defence.
• This new variant of the supersonic cruise missile will add more firepower to the Navy's underwater weapon delivery capabilities.
• BrahMos missile is fully ready to be fitted in submarines in vertical launch configuration which will make the platform one of the most powerful weapon platforms in the world.
•The BrahMos missile is set to be the primary weapon for the Navy in the coming years.

The Air Force version of the missile is also said to be ready and work is going on to modify two Russian Sukhoi (Su-30) fighter jets to make the aircraft BrahMos compatible.