The Army on Wednesday successfully tested an advanced BrahMos Block III Land Attack Cruise Missile (LACM) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This is its second consecutive test in two days.
The test, in an operational configuration, was carried by the Army’s South Western Command-based 1 strike corps.
Testing BrahMos in the Andaman and Nicobar islands is a symbolic statement, as it brings the strategic Malacca straits under its range. Precise capabilities of BrahMos missile for quick sea access and denial in the event of a conflict, and its testing in the Andaman Sea is a reflection of the changing dynamics in the Indian Ocean.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This is the fifth consecutive time when the Block-III version of BrahMos LACM has been successfully launched and hit the land based target in “top-attack” mode, an incredible feat not achieved by any other weapon system of its genre,” the Army said.
Russian collaboration
BrahMos is a product of collaboration between India and Russia and is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets.
ADVERTISEMENT
The range of the supersonic missile was initially capped at 290 km as per the obligations of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
Since India’s entry into the club, the range has been extended to 450 km and the plan is to increase it to 600km.
These tests were carried out in full operational land-to-land configurations from Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL) at full range.
“Meeting all flight parameters in a copybook manner while conducting high level and complex manoeuvres, the multi-role missile successfully hit the land based target with desired precision, in both the trials, demonstrating its accuracy of less than one metre,” the Army said.
The steep dive capability makes it an ideal precision strike weapon to neutralise targets in a clutter.
The Army, which began inducting BrahMos in 2007, currently has three missile regiments and is in the process of adding more.