India’s 1st Su-30MKIs Rearmed With BRAHMOS Supersonic Cruise Missile

The first two Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters operated by the Indian Air Force have been rearmed with the Russian-Indian BRAHMOS-A supersonic cruise missiles, Praveen Pathak, the chief general manager of the two countries’ joint venture BrahMos Aerospace, told Sputnik on Friday.

“The first two fighters have already been re-equipped with the brand-new BRAHMOS missile system. Other aircraft will be rearmed over the next few years,” Pathak said at the International Maritime Defence Show 2019, which is being held in Russia’s St. Petersburg.

Pathak noted that new missile tests would be carried out in August, aimed at testing its ability to destroy sea-based targets.

“In case the launch of the missile is successful, [India] will start rearming Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters with the missile serially,” the chief general manager added.

The BRAHMOS missile is the first ever supersonic cruise missile to be put into service with the military. According to the developers, the missile has an up to three times larger range than subsonic cruise missiles and is three times faster.

BRAHMOS has a range of around 300 kilometers (186 miles) and can maintain supersonic speed throughout the whole flight, which makes the missile unreachable for any existing air defense system, the developers say.

The missile can be launched from multiple types of platforms: land, ships, aircraft or submarines.

Source: Sputnik

Image Courtesy: Reddit