04-05-2010, 08:53 PM
The following report of Jane's Defence Weekly may be of interest to members:-
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The Indian Ministry of Defence has cleared a INR116 billion (USD2.57 billion) proposal to induct the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, developed jointly with Russia, into the Indian Air Force (IAF) to augment its firepower.
Officials said the agreement with BrahMos Aerospace, inked during the week ending 26 March, also includes the development of a smaller version of the weapon for integration onto the IAF's Su-30MKI multirole fighters and equipping two additional army regiments with 240 BrahMos missiles.
The missiles are reportedly costing the army around INR85 billion as Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, which supplies India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) - its partner - with around 80 per cent of the missile's components, has more than doubled the cost of each unit from INR130 million to INR270 million. These components include the missile's liquid ramjet engine and seeker, which are series produced at a specially created facility at Hyderabad, southern India.
Official sources said the IAF is initially expected to equip one squadron with the BrahMos Block II: the advanced version of the missile fitted with a terminal guidance system that renders it capable of striking specific targets in a clustered environment.
Military planners said inducting the 8.4 m-long, air-breathing BrahMos - which weighs 3.9 tonnes and is capable of carrying a 250-300 kg conventional warhead to a range of 290 km - will allow the IAF to strike targets such as enemy radar installations without endangering its combat aircraft.
Based on Russia's 3M55 Oniks/Yakhont system (NATO designation SS-N-26), the BrahMos is already in service with the Indian Army and deployed aboard Indian Navy warships.
On 21 March the BrahMos, which flies at an optimum speed of Mach 2.8, successfully underwent its 22nd test-firing - the first from a vertical launcher - off India's east coast, validating its 360-degree targeting capability.
In a related development, on 27 and 28 March the DRDO, alongside the army's Strategic Forces Command, successfully conducted back-to-back trials of a series of locally designed missiles, also off India's east coast.
On 27 March a single-stage, liquid-fuelled Prithvi (Earth) II surface-to-surface missile (SSM) with a 290 km range was tested, along with a nuclear-capable Dhanush (Bow - its naval version capable of striking targets to a range of 350 km).
DRDO officials said the missiles' indigenously developed advanced navigation and guidance systems provided a "high degree" of accuracy, meeting all "mission objectives with text-book precision".
A day later a nuclear-capable Agni (Fire) 1 SSM with a strike range of 700 km was test-fired from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on Wheeler's Island, eastern India. Weighing 12 tons, the single-stage, 15 m tall, solid-fuelled Agni 1 is capable of carrying a 1,000 kg warhead and has been specially developed to counter neighbouring nuclear rival Pakistan's range of missiles. The Agni and its longer-range variants - the Agni 2 (1,500-1,700 km range) and Agni 3 (more than 3,000 km range) - constitute India's credible, minimum nuclear deterrent.
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The Indian Ministry of Defence has cleared a INR116 billion (USD2.57 billion) proposal to induct the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, developed jointly with Russia, into the Indian Air Force (IAF) to augment its firepower.
Officials said the agreement with BrahMos Aerospace, inked during the week ending 26 March, also includes the development of a smaller version of the weapon for integration onto the IAF's Su-30MKI multirole fighters and equipping two additional army regiments with 240 BrahMos missiles.
The missiles are reportedly costing the army around INR85 billion as Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, which supplies India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) - its partner - with around 80 per cent of the missile's components, has more than doubled the cost of each unit from INR130 million to INR270 million. These components include the missile's liquid ramjet engine and seeker, which are series produced at a specially created facility at Hyderabad, southern India.
Official sources said the IAF is initially expected to equip one squadron with the BrahMos Block II: the advanced version of the missile fitted with a terminal guidance system that renders it capable of striking specific targets in a clustered environment.
Military planners said inducting the 8.4 m-long, air-breathing BrahMos - which weighs 3.9 tonnes and is capable of carrying a 250-300 kg conventional warhead to a range of 290 km - will allow the IAF to strike targets such as enemy radar installations without endangering its combat aircraft.
Based on Russia's 3M55 Oniks/Yakhont system (NATO designation SS-N-26), the BrahMos is already in service with the Indian Army and deployed aboard Indian Navy warships.
On 21 March the BrahMos, which flies at an optimum speed of Mach 2.8, successfully underwent its 22nd test-firing - the first from a vertical launcher - off India's east coast, validating its 360-degree targeting capability.
In a related development, on 27 and 28 March the DRDO, alongside the army's Strategic Forces Command, successfully conducted back-to-back trials of a series of locally designed missiles, also off India's east coast.
On 27 March a single-stage, liquid-fuelled Prithvi (Earth) II surface-to-surface missile (SSM) with a 290 km range was tested, along with a nuclear-capable Dhanush (Bow - its naval version capable of striking targets to a range of 350 km).
DRDO officials said the missiles' indigenously developed advanced navigation and guidance systems provided a "high degree" of accuracy, meeting all "mission objectives with text-book precision".
A day later a nuclear-capable Agni (Fire) 1 SSM with a strike range of 700 km was test-fired from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on Wheeler's Island, eastern India. Weighing 12 tons, the single-stage, 15 m tall, solid-fuelled Agni 1 is capable of carrying a 1,000 kg warhead and has been specially developed to counter neighbouring nuclear rival Pakistan's range of missiles. The Agni and its longer-range variants - the Agni 2 (1,500-1,700 km range) and Agni 3 (more than 3,000 km range) - constitute India's credible, minimum nuclear deterrent.
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