India to Test-Fire BrahMos Missile From Sukhoi-30 Next Month
16:44 01.05.2017(updated 16:46 01.05.2017)
In a bid to provide unprecedented punch to
the Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet, India will conduct the maiden trial of BrahMos
supersonic missile’s air version in June. A year ago, in June 2016, India
conducted the first test flight of a customized Su-30MKI fitted with a modified
BrahMos missile.
New Delhi (Sputnik) — It is anticipated
that approximately 20 trials will be made before BrahMos missiles are
ready for introduction into the Indian
Air Force (IAF). The IAF is expected to equip 42 Su-30 MKIs
with the 2016 Brahmos missile.
Defense sources said the integration
of the Brahmos with the Su-30MKI is almost complete. “Integration
of the missile with the fighter jet is near completion. We have
planned to test fire the missile from an aircraft in June,” said
official.
Indian scientists have tested the land
version of the BrahMos missile in April when it hit the target
at a distance of approximately 450 kilometers (around 280 miles)
in the Bay of Bengal. Apart from design modifications, the
missile’s weight has also been reduced by the manufacturer
to integrate with the Su-30 MKI.
BrahMos Aerospace has been engaged
with seven countries in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the
Middle East for selling Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets armed
with BrahMos cruise missiles.
“We have requests from seven
countries in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East,
which already have Su-30s. They keep a close eye on the ongoing trials and
once we are through, we are going to have many new buyers,” Praveen
Pathak, Additional GM, BrahMos Aerospace, had told Sputnik earlier.
The Indian Navy is equipping all its ships
with the BrahMos missile. A hypersonic version of the BrahMos cruise
missile, capable of flying at up to 5,000 kmph (around 3,100
mph), is expected to be created by 2020.
The BrahMos missile is a product
of BrahMos Aerospace, which is a joint venture of the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and the NPO
Mashinostroyenia of Russia. The company was established in India in 1998
through an inter-governmental agreement between India and Russia.
India holds 50.5 percent stake in the company and the rest lies
with Russia. The name BrahMos is a confluence of the names
of the rivers the Brahmaputra and the Moskva, respectively.
Original post: sputniknews.com
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Su-30MKI: Details
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