India Successfully Test-Fires BrahMos Missile from INS Chennai
The 290-km range missile has been jointly designed, developed and produced by India and Russia.
BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired on Sunday, 18 October, from the Indian Navy’s indigenously-built stealth destroyer INS Chennai. The Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO) said on Twitter that the missile hit the target in the Arabian Sea with “pinpoint accuracy”.
“The missile hit the target successfully with pinpoint accuracy after performing high-level and extremely complex manoeuvres,” a statement from Defence Ministry read.
"BrahMos as prime strike weapon will ensure the warship’s invincibility by engaging naval surface targets at long ranges, thus making the destroyer another lethal platform of Indian Navy,” the DRDO press release said.
Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh, congratulated the DRDO, BrahMos and the Indian Navy for the successful launch.
India has inducted and test-fired several weapons in the past few months amid the ongoing tensions with China along the Line of Actual Control.
Sunday’s test came days after India test-fired an extended-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a test facility off the Odisha coast on 30 September. The missile can hit targets 400 km away.
Later on 3 October, India successfully test-fired an advanced version of Shaurya missile, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Shaurya is about 10 metres long with a diameter of 0.74 metres.
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