BrahMos Missile in Indian Armed Forces

The year was 2004 when Quest for a Land based Supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles lead to the development of Army-specific BrahMos Block-II Land Attack Cruise Missile (LACM) variant which was equipped with special imaging processing software for terming homing, thus allowing it to pick out high priority targets over fortified enemy territories .

Various improvements were sorted to further enhance Land-based BrahMos leading to the development of Block-III which in Pokhran test searched ,located and destroyed a 50-cm thick concrete bunker with pinpoint accuracy .

While it has not been officially confirmed but Block-III BrahMos is equipped with Digital Scene Matching Area Correlator (DSMAC) which can provide precision surgical strike against an array of enemy counter-force and counter value targets ranging from airfields to overland communications,command and control centers and can overcome powerful air defence protected installations facilities .

Chinese are especially worried about Block-III’s enhanced maneuverability which enables it to do a terminal 70 degrees steep drive endgame to enable surgical strikes at mountain areas and high-value naval targets including aircraft carriers. what will only make Chinese further nervous is that now India is quietly working on Block-III+ as informed by well-informed sources close to idrw.org which will bring much more improvements in current Block-III variants.

According to sources, Block-III+ will come with 90-degress steep drive endgame capability and better warhead to enforce maximum damage to facilities which have been reinforced with military grade concrete . Block-III+ will be able to fly though many way-points and will come with improved guidance systems which also includes additional provisions for IRNSS and GAGAN and INS which will only improve its pinpoint accuracy further below 5 meters .

http://idrw.org/china-worried-brahmos-next-variant-will-give-nightmares/

India’s more hawkish foreign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with a major scoop up of international armaments has Beijing looking to their southern border with concern.

The Indian military deployed a fourth regiment of 100 BrahMos missiles and five autonomous missile launchers in the North-Eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh disconcertingly close to the country’s border with China amid festering tensions between New Delhi and Beijing in large part based on China’s pledge to support its long-time ally Pakistan in the event of an attack.

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) immediately denounced the deployment calling it a threat and saying it raises the stakes over a longstanding territorial dispute between the two countries.

The BrahMos "missile with updated capabilities for stealth and mountain warfare could threaten Yunnan and Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) provinces, located across the border from Arunachal Pradesh," said the People’s Liberation Army in a statement while a state-run media editorial said the move was "beyond India’s ‘normal need for self-defense.’ Playing tricks, they are bound to suffer the consequences."

China’s concern does not appear to be with the BrahMos in its current form with a maximum range of only 180 miles (290km) limiting the potential area of danger across the Chinese border, but Beijing worries that with certain modifications the stealth-capable missile could pose a greater threat.

The state-of-the-art hypersonic missile’s kinetic energy makes increases the stealth profile and target penetration characteristic of the weapon constructed jointly with Russia. The missile boasts a max speed of 2,113 MPH (3400kmh), but a hypersonic variant of the BrahMos traveling at nearly twice the speed is expected to be prepared in the next 5 to 7 years with a longer range.

The upgraded BrahMos potentially provides India with a major strategic advantage in mountain warfare with the missile specially designed to select targets hidden behind a mountain range and with the potential for longer range, hypersonic qualities the missile would likely pass through Beijing’s defense systems like a knife through butter.

Most concerning, with China’s own forays into hypersonic weapons technology, it appears that defense practices of the future are tilted towards offensive rather than defensive capabilities raising the stakes in the event that even a conventional war breaks out.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/asia/20160925/1045688568/india-china-brahmos-arunachal-pradesh.html

So Brahmos target land??

George1 wrote:So Brahmos target land??

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/brahmos-missile-test-indian-air-force-pokharan-2822200/

But why this query from you ? Rather you should be telling more abt why the brahmos is threat to china ?

MTCR benefit: India, Russia to develop 600-km range cruise missiles that can cover entire Pakistan



India's offensive capacity, especially against Pakistan, is set to take a huge step forward with New Delhi andMoscow deciding to jointly develop a new generation of Brahmos missiles with 600 km-plus range and an ability to hit protected targets with pinpoint accuracy.

This range enables these missiles to strike anywhere within Pakistan. That Russia can work with India to produce these missiles is thanks to New Delhi joining the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June this year.

MTCR guidelines prohibit its members from transfer, sale or joint production of missiles beyond 300-km range with countries outside the club.
[​IMG]


Brahmos' current range is 300 km, which makes it difficult to hit targets deep inside Pakistan. India has ballistic missiles with longer range than the next generation Brahmos. But Brahmos' ability to take down specific targets, even well-protected ones, makes it a potential game changer in any conflict with Pakistan. Ballistic missiles are powered for the initial half of their flight path and they use gravity to complete their trajectory. But cruise missiles are powered throughout.
similar to a pilot-less fighter jet that can be maneuvered in flight, programmed to attack targets from any angle and evade enemy missile defence systems. Brahmos can, for example, take down terror camps or hideouts even in mountain areas, where natural protection makes any other offensive action, bar crossing the border, ineffective.

The Indo-Russian agreement, signed during the bilateral summit at Goa, also includes development of missiles with smaller range that can be fired from submarines and aircraft. The deal was not made public at the summit — where other projects like sale of frigates and the S-400 air defence system purchase — were announced. Vladimir Putin told journalists from his country that the missile deal has also been signed. "We have also agreed to improve the Brahmos missile, which will be land, air and sea launched. We will also work to increase its range. And we will work together on a fifth-generation aircraft," Putin said, without sharing details.

ET spoke with several senior Indian officials involved in negotiations. They confirmed that a pact to double the range of the Brahmos missile was finalised. These officials spoke on the condition they not be identified. They also said producing longer-range Brahmos will not be tough because no fundamental reworking is involved in increasing the range. India, post its MTCR membership, is also pursuing export options for its 300-km range Brahmos. Vietnam has expressed interest in the missile system.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/mtcr-benefit-india-russia-to-develop-600-km-range-cruise-missiles-that-can-cover-entire-pakistan/articleshow/54926916.cms

The first test of the air-launched Brahmos is to be conducted in the Bay of Bengal sometime in December this year. A derelict naval warship is to be hit by a Brahmos launched from a specially modified Su-30MKI.



Indian and Russian missile scientists are now tweaking a formidable capability into the air-launched Brahmos supersonic cruise missile: an ability to shatter airaircraft carriers from extended ranges.
The first test of the air-launched Brahmos is to be conducted in the Bay of Bengal sometime in December this year. A derelict naval warship is to be hit by a Brahmos launched from a specially modified Su-30MKI.

The December test window follows the successful integration and drop test of a Brahmos missile from a modified Su-30MKI at HAL, Nashik on June 25.



Reports from the sidelines of the recently concluded BRICS summit in Goa quoted President Vladimir Putin on plans to increase the range of the 290-km Indo-Russian Brahmos missile. This follows India's entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) club in June 2016. (Non MTCR members cannot access technology for missiles with ranges over 300 km). The army and the navy already operated land and sea-based versions of the Brahmos missile inducted in 1998. The IAF will become the third service to field the missile with the air-launched test of the missile in December.
Also read: China warns India against deploying BrahMos cruise missile in Arunachal

THE TEST


The test will hit the warship target at an angle of 65 degrees and destroy it. But this capability would not enough to stop an aircraft carrier of over 60,000 tonnes. "Carriers have sealable compartments designed to survive multiple hits from anti-ship missiles," one missile scientist says. This is where Phase 2 of the Brahmos missile test comes in next year-fitting a modified radar seeker on the missile that can lock onto a moving aircraft carrier and plunge onto its decks in a near 90-degree death dive. The deck of a large aircraft carrier-nearly 300 metres long and 75 metres wide-presents the largest available target for a homing cruise missile's radar seeker.


"The sheer kinetic energy of the missile travelling at nearly three times the speed of sound and the high explosive warhead will destroy the aircraft carrier," a scientist says. This development comes amidst reports of China's aircraft carrier programme. China inducted a refurbished Sovietbuild aircraft carrier, the 67,000-tonne Liaoning, in 2012. It is building two aircraft carriers, the first of which photographs leaked onto online forums revealed as a Type 001A aircraft carrier being built in China's Dalian shipyard. The first carrier, with a displacement estimated at between 60,000 and 70,000 tonnes, is likely to be inducted into the PLA Navy by 2020. China has claimed to have modified its DF-21D medium range ballistic missiles into antiship ballistic missiles (ASBMs). The capability was developed specifically to target US aircraft carriers from ground-based launchers over 1700-km away.

Also read: India unhappy over Russia's military exercise with terror-sponsor Pakistan


IS IT TOO EARLY?


Naval analysts say it is still early days before India can field a similar carrier-killing capability. "The missile has to tick a number of boxes before it can be called a carrier killer," says former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retired). "The missile has to be able to acquire the carrier over 300 km away, escape radar jamming from its target and, finally, home in on the target and destroy it."



Brahmos scientists say they are confident of meeting all these challenges.


Some of these capabilities, they say, were demonstrated in a very significant test of the Brahmos in May 2015. A Brahmos missile launcher was airlifted by an IAF C-17 Globemaster III to the Andaman islands. A surface-to-surface version of the missile was fired and successfully hit a target on an island nearly 300 km away. The missile navigated through a series of waypoints before hitting the target within a 5-metre circular error probable (CEP).


http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/brahmos-test-india-china-russia/1/791087.html

MTCR benefit: India, Russia to develop 600-km range cruise missiles that can cover entire Pakistan

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/mtcr-benefit-india-russia-to-develop-600-km-range-cruise-missiles-that-can-cover-entire-pakistan/articleshow/54926916.cms

1st test of air-launched Brahmos in Dec. Missile 2 b tweaked as carrier-killer.



http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/brahmos-test-india-china-russia/1/791087.html



Indian and Russian missile scientists are now tweaking a formidable capability into the air-launched Brahmos supersonic cruise missile: an ability to shatter airaircraft carriers from extended ranges.

The first test of the air-launched Brahmos is to be conducted in the Bay of Bengal sometime in December this year. A derelict naval warship is to be hit by a Brahmos launched from a specially modified Su-30MKI.

The December test window follows the successful integration and drop test of a Brahmos missile from a modified Su-30MKI at HAL, Nashik on June 25.

The test will hit the warship target at an angle of 65 degrees and destroy it. But this capability would not enough to stop an aircraft carrier of over 60,000 tonnes. "Carriers have sealable compartments designed to survive multiple hits from anti-ship missiles," one missile scientist says. This is where Phase 2 of the Brahmos missile test comes in next year-fitting a modified radar seeker on the missile that can lock onto a moving aircraft carrier and plunge onto its decks in a near 90-degree death dive. The deck of a large aircraft carrier-nearly 300 metres long and 75 metres wide-presents the largest available target for a homing cruise missile's radar seeker.

"The sheer kinetic energy of the missile travelling at nearly three times the speed of sound and the high explosive warhead will destroy the aircraft carrier," a scientist says. This development comes amidst reports of China's aircraft carrier programme. China inducted a refurbished Sovietbuild aircraft carrier, the 67,000-tonne Liaoning, in 2012. It is building two aircraft carriers, the first of which photographs leaked onto online forums revealed as a Type 001A aircraft carrier being built in China's Dalian shipyard. The first carrier, with a displacement estimated at between 60,000 and 70,000 tonnes, is likely to be inducted into the PLA Navy by 2020. China has claimed to have modified its DF-21D medium range ballistic missiles into antiship ballistic missiles (ASBMs). The capability was developed specifically to target US aircraft carriers from ground-based launchers over 1700-km away.

Naval analysts say it is still early days before India can field a similar carrier-killing capability. "The missile has to tick a number of boxes before it can be called a carrier killer," says former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retired). "The missile has to be able to acquire the carrier over 300 km away, escape radar jamming from its target and, finally, home in on the target and destroy it."

Brahmos scientists say they are confident of meeting all these challenges.

Some of these capabilities, they say, were demonstrated in a very significant test of the Brahmos in May 2015. A Brahmos missile launcher was airlifted by an IAF C-17 Globemaster III to the Andaman islands. A surface-to-surface version of the missile was fired and successfully hit a target on an island nearly 300 km away. The missile navigated through a series of waypoints before hitting the target within a 5-metre circular error probable (CEP).

Developments in the last fortnight indicate an unprecedented buildup of confidence between India and Russia as evident from the many deals and agreements that have been reached.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India and Russia have approved the proposal to double the range of the BrahMos, world’s first supersonic cruise missile at the 16th Russia-India intergovernmental commission on military cooperation meeting.

Sources told Sputnik that during the annual summit in Goa, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached an agreement to develop different range of the BrahMos.

One of the ranges agreed upon was to double it from current range of 186 miles which received final nod on October 26 during the Russia-India intergovernmental commission on military cooperation meeting co-chaired by Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu.

“Russia is India's time tested and closest partner and it will continue to remain our primary defense partner,” Manohar Parrikar, Indian Defense Minister, said after the meeting on Wednesday.

The proposal to increase the range of BrahMos was under consideration for a long time and now it is formalized after India became a member of Missile Technology Control Regime this year. It is said that only minor changes will be enough to extend the range of BrahMos up to 372 miles.

Currently, BrahMos is capable of hitting targets beyond the radar horizon and can be launched from sea based and land based weapon systems. Test fire of an air-launched version of Brahmos cruise missile expected to be held in February next year. The 2.5 metric ton Brahmos air-to-ground missile will be fired from an IAF (Indian Air Force) Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft that has undergone modifications to accommodate the new weapon. A successful preliminary trial has already been carried out, and two more dummy trials are in the pipeline before the actual test.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/military/201610271046807475-india-brahmos-missile-doubled/

I wonder if some new fuel will give this capability to current Brahmos with ramjet to give them Hypersonic Capability

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/pm-modi-has-brought-a-paradigm-shift-in-defence-make-in-india-an-imperative-brahmos-sudhir-mishra/articleshow/50848593.cms

What is the update on the Mark II version of the BrahMos? What are the production and trial timelines and how does it improve on the existing missile system?

BrahMos Mark II or Hypersonic BrahMos will be able to fly much faster than the existing one. The speed of the existing BrahMos missile is 2.8 to 3 Mach. In order to make a pure hypersonic missile, one has to make a scramjet engine. Our study suggests that the present engine can be improved if we redesign some  some components and do proper thermal management, after which the missile can travel at a speed of 5 Mach.

At 5 Mach speed, the engine cannot be called pure hypersonic. In fact it is just beginning of the hypersonic regime. There are some problems in making a pure hypersonic engine. As of now, we are conducting research completely in the theoretical region. To test a pure hypersonic engine, we will have to make electronics which can withstand very high temperature.  We have to make it shock proof so that it can withstand speed of 8-9 Mach. My estimate is that we will be standing at the door of hypersonic engine in about three to four years, and pure hypersonic in about seven to eight years

https://defenceaviationpost.com/maiden-test-brahmos-extended-version-today/

New version of Brahmos tested with a range of 450 km.

The first test of the BrahMos ER rocket with increased range



According to the Indian-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace, on March 11, 2017, the first test launch from the ground-launched BrahMos ER (Extended Range) supersonic missile with extended range was successfully performed at the Indian missile range in Chandipur, Orissa.

The test was "100 percent successful." The press release reports that the BrahMos ER rocket has a range increased to "more than 400 km" (according to the Indian press, up to 450 km) compared to the current maximum range of "standard" BrahMos missiles at 290 km.

http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2487915.html

The Indian Navy successfully test-fired BrahMos sea-to-surface missiles in the Bay of Bengal on Friday, a source in the Defense Ministry told Sputnik.

The Indian Army's Brahmos Missiles, a supersonic cruise missile, are displayed during the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi, India.
GURINDER OSAN, FILE



BrahMos Aerospace to Be Indian DRDO’s Commercial Wing Abroad

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — This version of the Long Range BrahMos Missile was fired from INS Teg, a guided missile frigate, on a target on an island in the Bay of Bengal.

"Indian Navy successfully test-fired supersonic BrahMos missile from a stealth frigate in the Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast. Until now Navy had only antiship version of BrahMos missile. This one is the land-attack version with a range about 300 kilometers [186 miles]," the source told Sputnik.

The BrahMos Missile has been jointly developed by India and Russia, and its Anti-Ship variant has already been inducted into the Indian Navy.

"This successful maiden firing of BrahMos Land Attack Supersonic Cruise Missile has significantly enhanced the prowess of Indian Navy and has placed India in the club of a select few nations," an Indian Navy statement said.



The Land Attack variant provides Indian warships the capability to precisely neutralize selected targets deep inland, far away from the coast, from stand-off ranges at sea such as radars, command centers, airbases, and enemy missile batteries.


​A majority of the frontline ships of Indian Navy, like the Kolkata, Ranvir and Teg classes of ships, are capable of firing this missile. The Indian Navy has six Talwar class frigates, of which three are armed with the Russian-made export version of the Kalibr cruise missile complex while the other three are outfitted with BrahMos multipurpose missile system.
On March 11 this year, an enhanced version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with an Extended Range of more than 400 kilometers was successfully test-fired at a supersonic speed of 2.8 Mach.

BrahMos, a word combining Brahmaputra and Moscow, is a short-range supersonic missile, which has been used by the Indian Navy since 2005. The missile can carry a conventional warhead of up to 660 pounds. BrahMos missiles can be also launched from submarines, as well as aircraft and land-based launchers.

BrahMos Aerospace, the developer of the missile, was formed by India's Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia in 1998. It produces weapons systems using Russian and Indian technologies.

https://sputniknews.com/military/201704211052854095-brahmos-test-fire/

The Indian Army, adding another feather to its cap, successfully test-fired an advanced version of the Brahmos land-attack cruise missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Tuesday. “The test firing of the block–III version of the missile demonstrated the weapon’s unmatched lethality of hitting the centre of a designated target with “bull’s eye” precision,” a senior Army official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

While describing more about the test fire, he added, the supersonic cruise missile successfully hit the land-based target with desired precision in a “top attack configuration”. This test fire has matched all the parameter of the canonical textbook, involving high level and complex manoeuvring by the missile.

On April 22, the Indian Navy had conducted its first test-firing of the sea-to-land attack version of its advanced supersonic cruise missile Brahmos. The Brahmos missile is developed by a joint-venture between Russia’s Mashinostroyenia and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/indian-army-successfully-test-fires-advanced-block-iii-version-of-brahmos-cruise-missile-4637834/

A range of retaliatory measures are being weighed by India’s generals, including attacks by ground forces on Pakistani posts, or strikes by aircraft, missiles or massed artillery guns, reports Ajai Shukla.


The Army has begun weighing its options to retaliate against Pakistani forces on the Line of Control, after their troops, employing jihadi extremists, killed and beheaded two Indian soldiers near Poonch on Monday, top generals said.

It is learnt that the incident took place when an Indian patrol of 8-10 soldiers was checking the border fence, a perilous task involving physically moving along the fence, very close to the LoC, to check that it has not been cut or its electronic sensors damaged.

According to the modus operandi of Pakistani troops on forward LoC posts, the exposed patrol first came under intense fire from automatic weapons, which Pakistani soldiers had stealthily deployed in temporary positions, just across the LoC.

With two Indian jawans injured in the firing, a ‘border action team’, comprising jihadi fighters, darted across the LoC to the border fence. Covered by the Pakistan army’s firing, the jihadis killed the two jawans, beheaded them, and returned to their side of the LoC, bearing the heads as trophies.

The employment of a BAT is a well-rehearsed Pakistani tactic that creates deniability by using jihadis to cross into the Indian side.

The employment of a BAT is a well-rehearsed Pakistani tactic that creates deniability by using jihadis to cross into the Indian side. If any jihadis are killed or captured, the Pakistan army disowns it as an infiltration attempt.

Regular soldiers remain on their side of the LoC, firing on Indian posts and patrols to cover the BAT’s move.

A range of retaliatory measures are being weighed by India’s generals, including attacks by ground forces on Pakistani posts, or strikes by aircraft, missiles or massed artillery guns.

Earlier, an Army officer had said that there was a ceasefire violation in the area and that details are being sought.

“There was no ceasefire violation along the LoC in Poonch. It was speculative fire,” an army officer of northern command said.

Speculative fire is normally used to check movement of suspicious persons along the border.

Army Vice-Chief Lieutenant General Sarath Chand, on Tuesday, said, "Humko kya karna hai woh hum yahaan bataana nahin chahte hain. Apni karyavahi hum apne aap karenge, at a time and place of our choice (I don’t want to give out here what we intend to do. We will take action at a time and place of our choice)."


On Monday, the Army's Director General of Military Operations, Lieutenant General A K Bhatt, warned of retaliation during a phone call to his Pakistani counterpart. A defence ministry release stated: ‘The DGMO of the Indian Army conveyed that such a dastardly and inhuman act is beyond any norms of civility and merits unequivocal condemnation and response.'

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley also sounded a warning on Monday, "The country has full confidence and faith in our armed forces, which will react appropriately to this inhuman act. The sacrifice of these soldiers will not go in vain."

However, army sources emphatically rejected Indian media claims -- by India Today TV and Dainik Jagran newspaper -- that the Indian Army had already visited retribution, killing 10 Pakistani soldiers in an attack.

Last September, the Indian Army had retaliated to a jihadi strike on an army post near Uri with multiple cross-LoC ‘surgical strikes’ that are believed to have killed several jihadi fighters and a handful of Pakistani soldiers.

After another attack in November, the Indian Army secretly moved 155 millimetre Bofors guns into forward firing positions, destroying two Pakistani posts in a massed fire assault.

Even so, senior generals admit there are limitations on how much, and how often, Pakistani posts on the LoC can be punished, even in retaliating to an inhuman violation that involved mutilating Indian soldiers.

Inadequate punishment fails to deter Pakistani violations, while an excess could set off a cycle of escalation that could spiral out of control.

Moreover, the Indian military does not have a tri-service plan for immediate retaliation to such incidents.

This would involve pre-selecting Pakistan army or jihadi targets, earmarking the aircraft, missiles, guns or Special Forces to hit them and devising defensive measures for the inevitable Pakistani retaliation.

In what might be an unlinked development, the Army on Tuesday test-fired a BrahMos land-to-land missile, demonstrating what an official release described as ‘the weapon’s unmatched lethality of hitting the centre of a designated target with ‘bull’s eye’ precision’.

The BrahMos would be an important component of any concerted Indian cross-LoC strike capability.

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/india-may-use-brahmos-for-cross-loc-strikes/20170503.htm

Indian fighters Su-30MKI will be able to use up to three BrahMos-NG missiles



http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2701093.html

Its said to be the fastest Cruse missile so far in the world, yet isn't it based on the Onyx/Yakhont?

It is based on the Yakhont export version of the Onyx.

It is not faster than the tactical Kh-15 Kickback or Kh-32/Kh-22M missiles.

BRAHMOSTRA: The unseen story of arguably the world's fastest, supersonic cruise missile

The BrahMos-A airborne missile in India first hit a ground target

As the Indian-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace reported, on May 22, 2019, the second practical test launch of the BrahMos-A BrahMos Air Launched Cruise Missile developed by BrahMos Aerospace from the Su-30MKI Air Force India was made. In the course of this test, a rocket launched from a Su-30MKI aircraft, “flying its full range,” successfully hit a ground target that is located on the island of Kar Nicobar on the Nicobar Islands. This is the first test of an aircraft version of the BrahMos missile with a practical ground target damage.





https://bmpd.livejournal.com/3654004.html

India’s Air Force to arm Russian-made Su-30MKI fighters with BrahMos-A missiles

At least 40 fighters will be equipped with BrahMos missiles

REUTOV /Moscow Region/, May 28. /TASS/. About 40 Russian-made Su-30MKI fighter jets of India’s Air Force will be armed with BrahMos-A air-launched missiles in the next two or three years, CEO and Chief Designer of Russia’s Research and Production Association of Machine-Building Alexander Leonov said on Tuesday.

"As for the plans, the serial production has been launched and rearmament will be carried out, as our Indian colleagues have promised on many occasions. About 40 planes as the first batch will be equipped with BrahMos missiles. Of course, this will require some time, no less than two or three years, to re-equip the planes and produce air-launched BrahMos missiles," the chief executive said.


Manager for Marketing at the Russia-India BrahMos Aerospace Joint Venture Praveen Pathak told TASS last week that the BrahMos-A air-launched missile, which the JV was developing, had hit a ground target for the first time during a test launch. In 2017, the BrahMos-A missile was test-launched for the first time, successfully hitting a naval target.

The chief executive of the Research and Production Association of Machine-Building said that the two test launches were "very important" as they had been held both against a naval and a ground target. "The universal nature of the BrahMos missile has been fully confirmed," Leonov said.

The BrahMos missile has been developed by Russia’s Research and Production Association of Machine-Building (the town of Reutov near Moscow) and India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

The missile’s name comes from the names of two rivers: the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. The missile’s first launch took place on June 12, 2001 from a coastal launcher. The missile’s production has been arranged at enterprises in Russia and India.


More:
http://tass.com/defense/1060421

At 2.5 tonnes I would say it is not an effective weapon.  It needs to be launched in saturation attacks to overwhelm the enemies defences.  A lighter missile that can be carried in greater quantity would be more effective.

Onyx is from the mid 1990s, Brahmos is much newer... new fuel blends would give it higher performance... just like the new fuels developed for Zircon reportedly can increase the performance of the Onyx to almost Mach 5.

Of course Zircon is a scramjet and Onyx is a ramjet... you can use the same fuel in a piston engine and in a jet engine and get different speeds and ranges too.

At 2.5 tonnes I would say it is not an effective weapon. It needs to be launched in saturation attacks to overwhelm the enemies defences. A lighter missile that can be carried in greater quantity would be more effective.

Brahmos-NG is supposed to be carried by tactical aircraft like MiG-29 and Su-27 type aircraft. But conversion to scramjet and speeds of mach 8-10 will make it more effective too...