The Indian Air Force has successfully tested an aerial version of the BrahMos. (File)
New Delhi:
In a demonstration of its growing combat prowess, the Indian Air Force on Friday successfully tested an aerial version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi fighter jet in the Bay of Bengal, said official sources.
The missile struck a sinking ship with deadly precision and the test fire produced the desired results, they said.
The plane, belonging to the Thanjavur-based Tigersharks squadron, took off from a frontline air base in Punjab and was refueled before the missile was launched, they said.
The missile test firing took place amid the bitter confrontation between India and China in eastern Ladakh.
The missile was fired after the Su-30 MKI aircraft had traveled for more than three hours a “significantly long distance,” officials said.
In May of last year, the Indian Air Force first successfully tested the aerial version of the BrahMos missile from a Su-30 MKI fighter jet.
The BrahMos missile provides the IAF with a much desired capability to strike from great safety distances on any target at sea or on land with pinpoint accuracy day or night and in all weather conditions.
The IAF is also integrating the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on more than 40 Sukhoi fighter jets, which aims to enhance the force’s overall combat capability.
Over the past two months, India has tested a number of missiles, including a new version of the BrahMos supersonic surface-to-surface cruise missile and an anti-radiation missile named Rudram-1.
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