Army successfully tests BrahMos supersonic cruise missile: All you need to know

The Indian Army has tested a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands. The extended range version of the missile was tested by the Western Command of the Army, its sole tri-services command, the islands' DGP tweeted on Tuesday.

The test came after India issued a notice to Airmen (NOTAM) earlier this month. It the no-fly zone notified for the test, it was suggested that the variant of the cruise missile tested on Tuesday can hit targets at a range of 450km or more.

This year, India conducted many multiple tests of the BrahMos cruise missle from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Here are some of the key things to know about the BrahMos missile:

1. An Indo-Russian venture, the Army has been inducting BrahMos regiments since 2007.
2. It currently has a flight range of up to 290km with supersonic speed all through the light, ensuring lower dispersion of targets, quicker engagement time and non-interception by any known weapon system in the world.
3. The BrahMos cruise missile functions on a “fire and target” mode of operation, adopting varieties of flights on its way to the target. Its cruising altitude can be up to 15km, and terminal altitude is as low as 10 metres. The missile carries a conventional warhead carrying 200 to 300kg.
4. BrahMos can be launched from land, sea and air, and has an identical configuration for all three. It is currently in service in all these three areas.
5. The missile's current 290km flight range was kept since India was not a part of the Missile Tech Control Regime (MTCH). In 2016, the country joined it and and subsequently, its flight range was allowed to exceed 300km.