India to arm Russia-built jets with BrahMos missiles
The Indian Air Force will arm 40 Russia-built Sukhoi fighter jets
with BrahMos missiles, a top official has said.
BrahMos missiles |
The addition of the missiles to India’s fleet of Su-30MKI Flanker-H
fighters will make them “absolutely unique” in firepower, Sivathanu
Pillai, head of BrahMos Aerospace, said here on Wednesday at the Defence
Services Asia (DSA)-2010 exhibition.
The first tests of BrahMos air-launched missiles were set for 2011,
while the first fighter test flights with missiles on board are
scheduled for late 2012, he said. The BrahMos missile has a range of 290
km and can carry a warhead of up to 300 kg. It can effectively engage
ground targets from an altitude as low as 10 metres and has a
top speed of Mach 2.8, which is three times faster than the US-made
subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.
The BrahMos Aerospace, an Indian-Russian joint venture established in
1998, produces BrahMos supersonic missiles, sea and ground-launch
versions of which have been successfully tested and put into service by
the Indian Army and Navy.
AP |