BrahMos missile test-fired from INS Kochi

Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, with a strike-range of over 290 kilometres, was  test-fired from the navy's newest stealth destroyer INS Kochi successfully hitting a decommissioned target ship “Alleppey” in the Arabian Sea. This was the 49th test-firing of the missile. The second of Project 15A 'Kolkata-class' guided missile destroyers test-fired the advanced missile system as part of 'Acceptance Test Firing' during a naval drill being conducted along the country's west coast.

About INS Kochi

INS Kochi is stealth guided missile destroyers launched under Project The Kolkata Class 15A.  The Kolkata class (Project 15A) are a class of stealth guided missile destroyers constructed for the Indian Navy. The class comprises three ships – Kolkata, Kochi and Chennai, all of which are being built by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in India, and are the largest destroyers to be operated by the Indian Navy. Till now INS Kolkata and INS Kochi is commissioned, INS Chennai will be inducted in Indian Navy soon. The navy commissioned INS Kochi on September 30, this year. The 7,500-ton indigenously developed warship incorporates new design concepts for improved survivability, stealth, sea-keeping and manoeuvrability.The warship has the advanced capability of carrying a total of 16 BrahMos missiles in two 8-cell vertical launch systems, besides other sophisticated weapons and sensors.

About Brahmos

• The BrahMos) is a short range supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land.
• It is a joint venture between  Russia and India who have together formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.
• The name BrahMos is formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
• The land-launched and ship-launched versions are already in service, with the air and submarine-launched versions currently in the testing phase. The missile travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0.

Variants of Brahmos

Surface to surface variant: BrahMos was first test-fired in 2001 from chandipur, Orissa.

Submarine-launched variant: The submarine-launched variant of Brahmos was test fired successfully for the first time from a submerged pontoon near Visakhapatnam at the coast of Bay of Bengal on 20 March 2013.

Air-launched variant:  Su-30MKI is capable of carrying up to three BrahMos-A missiles

Specifications:

• Maximum speed: Mach 2.8.
• Maximum range: 290 km.
• Warhead:  200 kg(surface to surface variant and submarine launched variant) and 300 kg( air launched variant).
• It has a two-stage propulsion system, with a solid-propellant rocket for initial acceleration and a liquid-fuelled ramjet responsible for sustained supersonic cruise.

By: Vishal