IAF Su-30MKI with Brahmos missile
PTI
Published : Dec
17, 2017, 1:14 pm IST
Updated : Dec
17, 2017, 2:06 pm IST
Brahmos missile is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on
India's Su-30 fighter aircraft.
New Delhi: Work has begun to integrate the Brahmos
supersonic cruise missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft which is expected to
fulfil critical needs of the Indian Air Force in the wake of evolving security
dynamics in the region.
The air-launched variant of the Brahmos, the world's
fastest supersonic cruise missile, was successfully test fired from a Sukhoi-30
combat jet on November 22, marking a major milestone to enhance the precision
strike capability of the air force.
"The work to integrate the Brahmos missile on 40
Sukhoi combat aircraft has begun. A timeline for the project is being
set," official sources told news agency PTI without elaborating.
It is learnt that the project is expected to be completed
by 2020.
The fleet of 40 Sukhoi jets will undergo structural
modifications at the state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd or HAL
for integration of the missile on them.
The 2.5-ton missile flies almost three times the speed of
sound at Mach 2.8 and has a range of 290 km.
The range of the missile, an Indo-Russia joint venture,
can be extended up to 400 km as certain technical restrictions were lifted
after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime or
MTCR in 2016.
Brahmos missile is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on
India's Su-30 fighter aircraft.
Once the project to integrate the weapon on the combat
fleet was over, the capability of the Indian Air Force to strike from large
stand-off ranges on any target in sea or land is expected to go up manifold.
"It is a very important project considering IAF's
evolving requirement to boost air power when the possibility of a two-front war
cannot be ruled out," an official told news agency PTI.
After the test firing of the air-launched version, the
air force had said the missile coupled with the superlative performance of the
Su-30 aircraft will give the force a strategic reach and will allow it to
dominate the ocean and the battle fields.
The integration of the missile on Sukhoi aircraft is a
very complex process involving mechanical, electrical and software
modifications of the Su-30 jet.
Brahmos is a joint venture between India's DRDO and
Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM).
Original post: asianage.com
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