Indian army receives Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles

INDIA: India’s army began to take delivery of supersonic cruise missiles it jointly developed with Russia, defense ministry and military officials said.

The Brahmos missile can carry warheads up to 200 kilograms in weight and has a maximum range of 290 kilometers the army said in a statement.

The missile, which has undergone several successful tests, can fly at 2.8 times the speed of sound and can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land, the statement said.

“The delivery of the missiles to the Indian army began Thursday,” Defense Ministry spokesman Siatanshu Kar said. He refused to say how many missiles were delivered, how many were expected in total, or where the missiles were to be based.

The missiles were developed by Brahmos Corp., a joint venture between India’s Defense Research and Development Organization and Russian state-linked developer NPO Mashinostroeyenia, along with a consortium of Indian and Russian businesses. At a public function to mark the delivery of the missiles, President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam handed a replica of a Brahmos missile mobile launcher to the army chief, Gen. J.J. Singh, the Press Trust of India said. Delivery of the missiles has begun a year ahead of schedule, according to the army statement.

PTI suggested the program was moved forward in response to the development of a longer-range subsonic cruise missile by Pakistan.

New Delhi, Friday, AP