India successfully test-fires BrahMos cruise missile from aircraft

India says it has successfully fired a BrahMos cruise missile from a fighter jet for the first time, marking a major milestone in the joint development of the strategic weapon with Russia.

"The IAF (Indian Air Force) is the first air force in the world to have successfully fired an air-launched 2.8 Mach surface attack missile of this category," the force said in a statement on Wednesday.

The nuclear-capable missile was gravity-dropped from a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet and was able to hit its target in the Bay of Bengal.

“The launch from the aircraft was smooth and the missile followed the desired trajectory before directly hitting the ship target,” India’s Defense Ministry said.

Originally planned for 2015, the multi-platform missile’s air launch had been hindered by technological challenges.

While the Indian navy and army operate a version that weighs three tons and has a range of up to 500 km, the air force had to lower the weight to make it compatible with the Su-30 aircraft.

This reduced the nuclear-capable missile’s range to around 400 km, but Indian officials were happy with the outcome.

"The capability of the missile, coupled with the superlative performance of the Su-30 aircraft, gives the IAF a strategic reach and allows it to dominate the ocean and the battlefields," an IAF official said.

Combined with the Su-30’s range of around 3,000 km, the missile provides the IAF the capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target in sea or land with high accuracy rates, military officials told Indian media. Each jet can currently carry only one missile.

According to government sources, India is also considering developing smaller versions of BrahMos for the navy’s Mig-29 aircraft.

The missile might also be modified to fit Rafale fighter jets. India is working on a government-to-government deal with France to buy 36 of the advanced aircraft.

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India’s Cabinet Committee on Security approved the decision to equip the Su-30MKIs with BrahMos missiles in October 2012. The IAF is slated to get over 200 air-launched versions coupled with as many as 50 modified Su-30MKI fighter jets.

The BrahMos missile project is a joint venture between India’s Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia’s Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyeniya (NPOM).

The missile’s name is taken from two rivers, the Brahmaputra in India and the Moskva in Russia.

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