NEW DELHI, February 6 (RIA Novosti) – The first ever test launch of an advanced Russian-Indian Brahmos supersonic cruise missile from a warship in salvo mode took place earlier this year and was successful, a Brahmos Aerospace spokesman said Thursday.
Two missiles were launched within an interval of several seconds, the spokesman told RIA Novosti on the sidelines of the DefExpo-2014 exhibition in New Delhi.
The target was destroyed, the spokesman said.
India’s PTI news agency cited a Defence Research and Development Organization official as saying that the launch took place from the Russian-built INS Trikand warship in the Arabian Sea.
According to PTI, eight cruise missiles could be fired in salvo mode in future.
The Brahmos missile has a range of 290 kilometers (180 miles) and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). It can effectively engage targets from an altitude as low as 10 meters (30 feet) and has a top speed of Mach 2.8, which is about three times faster than the US-made subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.
Sea- and ground-launched versions have been successfully tested and put into service with the Indian army and navy.
Russia and India have also agreed to develop a hypersonic Brahmos 2 missile capable of flying at speeds of Mach 5 to Mach 7.
