India test-fires BrahMos supersonic missile from vertical launcher
18 Dec 2008
New Delhi: India test fired its BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on Thursday, conducting the test from a vertical platform. This is the first firing of the BrahMos from a universal vertical launcher fitted in a ship.
All earlier launches of BrahMos missiles had been carried out from inclined launchers.
"The BrahMos missile has been successfully launched today from a naval warship in the Bay of Bengal. This unique launch has been carried out from a mobile platform and all mission objectives have been met," a DRDO official said.
"It is a significant milestone in view of the fact that most present day ships are today fitted with vertical launchers," the official said.
The missile has a range of 290 km and carries a conventional warhead of 300 kg. It can achieve speeds of up to 2.8 Mach or nearly three times the speed of sound.
The versatile supersonic missile, the product of a joint venture between India and Russia, takes its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, and will be available in various versions, including those that can be launched from submarines, ships and aircraft or on land.
