• The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test-fired an extended range version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi fighter jet.

• The launch from the aircraft was as planned and the missile achieved a direct hit on the designated target in the Bay of Bengal region.

• It was the first launch of the extended range version of the BrahMos missile from a Su-30MKI aircraft and the weapon hit the designated target in the Bay of Bengal.

• With this, the IAF has achieved the capability to carry out precision strikes from Su-30MKI aircraft against a land/sea target over very long ranges. 

• The extended-range version of the missile coupled with the high performance of the Su-30MKI aircraft gives the Indian Air Force a strategic reach and allows it to dominate the future battlefields. 

• Besides the IAF, the Navy, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) were involved in the test firing. 

BrahMos missile

• BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.

• It operates on fire-and-forget principle, adopting varieties of flights on its way to the target. Its destructive power is enhanced due to large kinetic energy on impact. 

• BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.

• Last month, the Indian Air Force successfully test-fired a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi fighter jet on the Eastern seaboard. 

• An anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired jointly by the Indian Navy and the Andaman and Nicobar Command on April 27. 

• India is also exporting the BrahMos missiles. In January, India sealed a $375 million deal with the Philippines for supplying three batteries of the missile.

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