Indian Army clears BrahMos Block II for induction
31 Mar 2009
New Delhi: The Indian Army has cleared induction of the new Block II Land Attack version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, which will have the capability to deliver precision strikes even in a "clustered urban environment''.
Army vice-chief Lt Gen Noble Thamburaj said Monday the third test of the 290-km range BrahMos Block-II missile had been analyzed to be "extremely successful''. The first of the three tests, held on 20 January this year, had failed. The failure necessitated two follow-on tests.
"Accuracy was the watchword. We had wanted them (BrahMos Aerospace) to include a new sensor in the missile. That is what these last three trials were all about. Because more than the naval version, in Army, we wanted the missile to distinguish between similar kind of targets in urban areas,'' Gen Thanmburaj clarified.
"The process of induction will now start. After carrying out the three field trials, the Army is absolutely satisfied,'' he added, on the sidelines of a seminar organised by Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).
The Army, along with the Navy, has already cleared a Block I version of the missile for induction.
While Army has ordered two BrahMos regiments in the first phase at a cost of Rs8,352 crore, with 134 missiles, 10 road-mobile autonomous launchers on 12x12 Tatra vehicles and four mobile command posts, the Navy has ordered 49 BrahMos firing units at a cost of Rs 711 crore.
Highlighting the importance of "firepower'' during combat, Lt-Gen Thamburaj said the missile's "accuracy, lethality and range'' made it "a deadly combination''.
The Army vice-chief said it was important to possess both short and long-range artillery weapon systems because the battlefield was "no longer linear''.
"We got to apply our firepower on targets in depth with our special forces operating there during battle. So, longer range weapons give the commander greater flexibility,'' he added.
The DRDO is already developing a long range, high sub-sonic, cruise missile, Nirbhay, for deployment with all three services. The stealth, terrain-hugging cruise missile is tipped to have a range in the proximity of 1,000 km.