BrahMos successfully hits the target situated 25 km away from launching pad

The Army on Wednesday successfully test-fired the land attack version of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos from the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan. The missile took off successfully and hit the "bull's eye," an official said. The missile, a joint venture of India and Russia, was fired at 9.15 am on Wednesday. The previous test-firing was on March 29, 2009. "The missile took off successfully and hit the desired target at Ajasar area range situated 25 km away from launching pad, meeting all mission parameters," a source said. This is the fouth test-firing this year for the block-II version for the Army. In the first test, the missile failed to hit the target. "With this launch, the requirement of Army for the land attack version with block-II advanced seeker software with target discriminating capabilities has been fully met and this version is ready for induction," the source said. The missile will provide an enhanced capability to the army for selection of a particular land target among a group of targets. The launch was witnessed by director general, artillery, Lt Gen. K R Rao, along with DRDO and other senior army officers. Some other senior scientists were also present during the launch. The Army has already begun inducting the land-fired version of the BrahMos, with the first battery entering service in June 2007. Each battery is equipped with four mobile launchers mounted on a heavy 12x12 Tatra transporters. The missile, which takes its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, has a range of 300-km and carries a 300 kg conventional warhead. It can achieve speeds of up to 2.8 Mach or nearly three times the speed of sound.

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