The 13th test of the BrahMos missile at Chandipur-on-sea on Sunday, 4 Feb 2007. Photo Credit: DRDO6 February 2007 (Sawf News) - A maneuverable land attack version of the BrahMos missile, fired from a mobile launcher, was tested on Sunday, 04 Feb 2006 at Chandipur, Orissa..
The missile flew over the Gulf of Bengal at a 2.8 speed along an "S" trajectory.
Elaborating on the test of a weapons system that has earlier already been proven Project Chief Sivathanu Pillai, who heads the BrahMos Air Space Ltd. said, "...we staged for the first time on Sunday an experiment to see whether it [the missile] is able to make sharp maneuvers at supersonic speeds.
"The missile proved able to do it and, thereby, confirmed its very high combat effectiveness".
Hindu reports, "With a clear sky, the missile took off at 12:16 p.m. from the mobile launch complex. Before the lift-off, it was raised vertically. As Lt. Col. Bishnu Ram pressed the ignition button, the missile rose, turned sharply at 90 degrees horizontally and spectacularly carried out the maneuvering in the form of a "S" curve and cruised over the Bay of Bengal at 2.8 times the speed of sound."
It appears what was being tested is the missile's ability to approach a ground target from any direction not just the very predictable line of sight from the launcher to the target.
If the terse announcement following the test that the ground-to-ground missile had accurately performed the assigned maneuver is indeed true, the Army must be elated.
The ability to maneuver in flight at supersonic speeds will make the missile even more lethal than it was earlier by complicating the task of defending against it. A small number of quick reaction surface to air missiles positioned along the line of site between the launcher and target will now not constitute a adequate defense. A target will now need a protective ring of expensive missile batteries.
The new test proves that development of new versions of Brahmos missile is being pursued vigorously. Submarine and air launched versions of the missile are under development. The Navy and more recently the Army have both placed order for their respective versions of the eight-metres-long, two-stage missile that has a takeoff weight of more than three tons and can hit targets up to 290 kilometers away.
Brahmos is a fine example of what Russian ingenuity and engineering skills can achieve in combination with Indian baniagiri.
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