Hemant Kumar Rout By

BALASORE:The much-awaited test of the air version of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos will be conducted in March. Earlier planned in December, this nuclear capable world class weapon system is now ready to surprise enemies.

The launch has been planned on the sidelines of the visit of Russian Defence Minister General Sergei Shoigu to the BrahMos Aerospace Headquarters, said Sudhir Mishra, CEO and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL), on Wednesday.

Informing this over phone from Delhi, Mishra said, “If everything goes according to the programme, the live test flight of the missile will be carried out from Su-30MKI fighter aircraft in March. Both the launcher and missile are ready. Now, interface of the missile with the aircraft is on. There will be a dummy test before the actual drop test,” he said.

Sources said the drop test is likely to be conducted off the Odisha coast while the dummy test will take place in Pokharan.

Jointly developed by India and Russia, the 8.4 metre BrahMos missile, the fastest in the world, has a flight range of 290 km and carries a conventional warhead up to 300 kg, thus delivering with high-precision, devastating power at supersonic speed of Mach-2.8.

Defence scientists are leaving no stone unturned for a copybook launch. If test-fired successfully, BrahMos will be the first weapon system in the world to have such capability. As of now, there is no such weapon available in the world.

Defence sources said the BrahMos Aerospace had to reduce the weight of the air version of the missile as it will be launched from a moving platform. Some modifications were also made in its design to easily integrate it in Sukhoi aircraft.

“Some structural changes were also made to the Sukhoi by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to ensure finest integration. The design changes have been validated through various tests, including the critical ground vibration test,” sources added.