BrahMos Missiles:-A force Multiplier of the Indian Army, Navy, and Airforce
BrahMos was formed as a joint venture between DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyenia. The company was established in India through an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed on February 12, 1988, between India and Russia.BrahMos-the name represents the fury of Brahmaputra and the grace of Moskva river. The company was established with an authorized capital of $250 million with 50.5% from Indian side and 49.5% from Russian side. The company is responsible for designing, producing and marketing the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.
Brahmos Missiles has a flight range of up to 290km and can reach a maximum speed of Mach 3. The air launched version of the missile is under development as of 2013.
Brahmos Missiles: Advanced satellite navigation systems from Russia’s Kh-555 and Kh-101 strategic long-range cruise missiles, and GPS-GLONASS technology were added to the existing doppler-inertial platforms of BrahMos missiles in 2013.
The missile can be installed on ships, submarines, aircraft, and ground vehicles. BrahMos missiles are inducted into the armed forces of India and Russia and can also be exported to friendly nations. Actually, the Brahmos version is the same as the Russian Onix Anti-Ship Cruise Missile. The DRDO and NPO Mutually agreed to Produce the most advanced version of Onix hence they came up with the Plan Inducting those Advance Version of Anti Shipping Cruise Missiles within their Fleet only. and they named it Brahmos Representing Brahmaputra and Moskva Rivers in India and Russia respectively. The Brahmos Physical Appearance is the same as the Onix Missile. Till now the Russians using the Onix Anti Shipping cruise missiles in their front-line ships. for some other reason, the cost of Onix is less than the Brahmos missile which is $2.8 million per piece. As of now Indian navy, Indian Army, and Indian Airforce only use those Brahmos missiles The Indian and Russian counterparts actively researching to improve the Brahmos deadlier and adding more difficult paths and Guidance systems improving its capability and decreasing its Radar Cross Section (RCS). India currently uses the Brahmos for tri Services for the Navy It can perform Anti Shipping roles and Land Attack Missions. For Army, It uses the Land Attack variant of both Block II and Block III. The Brahmos can be fired from Surface Ships Submarines Land Based Launchers and Fighters.
BrahMos design and features
BrahMos is derived from the Russian-made P-800 Oniks / Yakhont supersonic anti-ship cruise missile.
The BrahMos propulsion is based on the Oniks, while the guidance system was developed by BrahMos Aerospace.
The missile can be configured for land, sea, and aerial platforms. An aircraft-launched variant (BrahMos A) is currently being configured for the Sukhoi SU-30MKI aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF). It features a smaller booster and additional tail fins for greater stability during launch.
The ship and land-based BrahMos missiles can carry a conventional semi-armor-piercing warhead of 200kg, while the aerial variant can carry a 300kg warhead. These missiles can intercept surface targets as low as 10m in altitude.
The deep penetration capabilities of the Brahmos were tested successfully in November 2013 at the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan, India.
1) Ship Based System
BrahMos is the leading supersonic cruise missile capable of hitting sea-based targets beyond radar horizons. The missile with pinpoint accuracy can be launched as far as 290 km from the target.
The ship-based BrahMos N1 is launched either from the inclined or vertical launch platform.
The missile system can be installed on frigates, corvettes, offshore patrol vessels, and other types of vessels to attack sea and land-based targets.
BrahMos Aerospace has developed a universal vertical launcher module (UVLM) for the BrahMos N1 missile.
The UVLM can launch up to eight missiles to destroy a group of warships featuring modern anti-missile defense systems.
The first variant of BrahMos N1 has been installed on front-line warships of the Indian Navy since 2005. A highly maneuverable variant of the BrahMos missile was successfully test-fired in October 2012 from INS Teg, a Talwar Class guided missile frigate of the Indian Navy.
The ship-based cruise missile consists of a fire control system, with high salvo launch capability and enhanced with an inertial navigation system.
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2) Land-based Weapon Complex System
BrahMos is a formidable weapon system With its unmatched speed precision and devastating power. The land-based missile system consists of four to six mobile autonomous launchers, a mobile command post and mobile replenishment vehicle. The Indian Army regiment of BRAHMOS-I variant includes 67 missiles, five mobile launchers based on 12×12 Tatra vehicles and two mobile command posts. The first two regiments have been introduced by the Indian Army and the third is being inducted as of 2013.
3) Air launch Weapon System
BrahMos Air-launched version is getting ready to launch from the SU-30MKI fighter plane of the Indian Air Force.
BrahMos Aerospace has completed the development of an air launch variant. The aircraft launcher is being manufactured in cooperation with the Sukhoi Design Bureau, HAL, and IAF. The launch platform is integrated into the SU-30 MKI aircraft.
Russia signed a contract with India in December 2012, to integrate the BrahMos with the Su-30MKI aircraft for developing an air launch variant of the missile.
The Indian government has decided to lower the weight and strengthen the structure of the aircraft and rocket launcher of the BrahMos in order to make it more suitable for integration with the SU-30 MKI.
The first test for the air launch missile will be carried out by the end of 2013 and the new missile will be inducted into the IAF in 2014.
4) Submarine-based System
Brahmos is capable of launching from a submarine-based system from 40-50 meters depth.
The submarine-launched BrahMos missile was successfully test-fired on 20 March 2013 at Vishakhapatnam. India is the only country in the world to own a submarine-launched supersonic cruise missile.
The missile can be fitted on a vertical launcher installed in the pressure hull of the submarine. It can be launched from submarines under a water depth of 40m-50m. The missile has a range of 290km and can travel at a speed of Mach 3.
Future of Brahmos Missile
1) Brahmos Mini also called Brahmos-NG(Next Generation)
The BrahMos-NG will be weighing around 1.5 tonnes and will have a range of 290-km. It will be able to carry the same 300-kg explosive warhead and will travel at 3 times the speed of sound. The BrahMos-NG will be a smaller, more nimble, 6 meters in length and 50 centimeters in diameter.The BrahMos-NG will be available as a land-based variant for the Indian Army, ship-borne & submarine tube-launched for the Indian Navy and also an air variant for the Indian Air Force. Suitable fighters that will be able to carry the missile under their wings are the Mig-29 (2 BrahMos-NG missiles), Su-30 MKI (3 BrahMos-NG missiles) and the FGFA (3 BrahMos-NG missiles).The BrahMos-Next Generation missile project will eventually replace the existing inventory of BrahMos missiles in a decade or so. The first NG variant is expected to take flight in the year 2017-18. The smaller size of the missile and lighter weight will make the missile the best in the world for atleast a decade after mass-scale production begins. The missile will be harder to detect and almost imposible to be hit by air-defense missiles because of its Mach 3 Speed.
2) BrahMos-2 hypersonic version
BrahMos-II or BrahMos-2 or BrahMos Mark II is a hypersonic cruise missile currently under joint development by Russia and India’s. It is the second of the BrahMos series of cruise missiles. The BrahMos-II is expected to have a range of 290 kilometres (180 mi) and a speed of Mach 7. During the cruise stage of flight the missile will be propelled by a scramjet airbreathing jet engine instead of a ramjet one. “As a variation of the ramjet,” the company explains, “scramjets allow combustion to occur in a supersonic airflow, thereby expanding the operating range above Mach 4.”.