Indian Army Successfully Tests Extended-Range BrahMos Missile, Capable Of Striking Upto 500 KM: Report

The Indian Army has successfully conducted a test of the extended-range variant of the BrahMos missile, reported Janes.

According to the report, the test took place in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as part of the induction trials for the extended-range variant.

The extended-range variant, known as BrahMos-ER, is capable of striking land and sea targets at a maximum range of 400 to 500 kilometres.

The report quoted an Indian Army officer who stated, "The missile has not yet been inducted, and the Indian Army will consider inducting it based on the outcomes of the test."

The missile is expected to undergo further trials before its formal induction into the army.

The baseline BrahMos missile, first tested in June 2001, can strike sea-borne targets at a range of 290 km. The missile was jointly developed by Russian NPO Mashinostroyeniya and the Defence Research and Development Organisation and is based on the Russian P-800 Onyx missile.

Since then, the missile has seen iterative developments, enabling it to strike targets at ranges of 500 km, guided by an advanced 'Made-in-India' active radar seeker.

India has also developed an air-launched version named BrahMos-A, which is half a tonne lighter at 2.5 tonnes compared to the ground and ship-launched variant, weighing 3 tonnes.

Another lighter and faster variant of the missile, namely, the BrahMos-NG missile, is under development and can also be carried by Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets.