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DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

  • 26 August, 2022

  • 6 Min Read

Brahmos Missile

Brahmos Missile

Three Indian Air Force (IAF) officers have had their employment terminated by the Ministry of Defense as a result of the unintentional launch of a BrahMos missile that landed in Pakistan.

About

  • Early in 1980s, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam established the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, which went on to create a variety of guided missiles with a wide range of capabilities and ranges, including the Prithvi, Agni, Trishul, Akash, and Nag.
  • Early in the 1990s, India's strategic leadership recognized the necessity for cruise missiles, which are guided missiles that travel practically continuously during the majority of their flight path and precisely deliver massive warheads over great distances.
  • The requirement became apparent principally as a result of the Gulf War's usage of cruise missiles.

Signing the Contract:

  • In 1998, Dr Kalam, the chairman of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), and N. V. Mikhailov, the deputy defence minister of Russia at the time, signed an intergovernmental agreement in Moscow.
  • As a result, DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM), a joint venture with the Russians holding 49.5% and India holding 50.5%, created BrahMos Aerospace.
  • After receiving funding from the two governments in 1999, DRDO and NPOM laboratories started working on developing missiles.

Significance

  • The two-stage BrahMos missile has a booster engine that burns solid fuel.
  • The missile's first stage accelerates it to supersonic velocity before separating.
  • When in the cruise phase, the liquid ramjet or second stage accelerates the missile closer to three times the speed of sound.
  • The missile can go in a number of directions and has a very low radar signature, making it stealthy.
  • The "fire and forget" type missile may strike the target at an altitude as low as 10 m and a cruise altitude of 15 km.
  • Known as "standoff range weapons," cruise missiles like the BrahMos are launched at a distance that enables the attacker to avoid defensive counterfire.
  • In comparison to subsonic cruise missiles, the BrahMos boasts a three times faster top speed, a 2.5 times longer flying range, and a higher range.

Present and upcoming

  • The BrahMos is undergoing a lot of improvements as a result of the changing demands of multi-dimensional warfare, and efforts are being made to create variants with increased ranges, manoeuvrability, and accuracy.
  • Ranges up to 350 km are included in the versions that are currently being tested, as opposed to the original's 290 km.
  • It is rumoured that versions with hypersonic speed and even larger ranges, up to 800 km, are in the works.
  • Additionally, efforts are being made to decrease the size and signature of current versions and increase their functionality.

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Source: The Indian Express


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