IAF To Arm More Sukhois With Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missiles With A Range Of Over 500 Km
- The Indian Air Force (IAF) put the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter jets with the BrahMos into service in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, in August 2020.
- BrahMos missiles are made in India as part of a partnership between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is going to add more Sukhoi 30 (SU-30) MKI fighters with the BrahMos supersonic missile, which now has a range of more than 500 kilometres.
The IAF has 40 SU-30 MKIs with BrahMos, the only supersonic cruise missile in the world, according to sources in the defence and security establishment. Sources in the defence and security sector also said that the missile’s range, which used to be 290 km, has been increased to more than 500 km.
The range of the land-launched BrahMos is about 400 kilometres, and work is being done to make it 800 and 1,500 kilometres.
There is an active #Areawarning for this region near the Andaman Islands – #IndianAirForce air to surface missile firing between 11-13 May 2022, the path from north to south measures roughly 490 km https://t.co/SLphNtROIl pic.twitter.com/XGPSrt7L2g
— Damien Symon (@detresfa_) May 12, 2022
Sources also said that the missile’s incredible accuracy has made it a real miracle for the IAF.
“Every time the missile has been tested, it has hit the designated target on the ground within 10 metres. A source said that when the IAF shot at a ship, the missile hit the ship right in the middle.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) put the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter jets with the BrahMos into service in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, in August 2020. This squadron is called the “Tiger Sharks.” It was the first time that the Southern Air Command had a base for the Fourth Generation air dominance fighters. Since the Su-30s can attack ships at sea, the IAF did this to make it harder for China to send ships to the Indian Ocean Region.
The strategic location of Thanjavur was another reason why the Su-30 MKIs were sent there. There are 18 fighters in the Tiger Sharks squadron, and about six of them have BrahMos.
The IAF has 40 Sukhois that are all equipped with Brahmos. These planes are spread out along the country’s borders with Pakistan and China.
BrahMos difficult to intercept by surface-to-air missiles
The air-launched version of BrahMos is different from the land-launched version in that it gives military planners more ways to hit deeper targets that would otherwise be out of range. This is because the Sukhois have a range of 1,500 km, so the cruise missile can hit targets far away.
In May, the IAF tried out the missile’s longer range.
BrahMos missiles are also built into a certain class of warships used by the Navy.
Sources said that the Russians helped make some changes to the software that were needed to make the missile’s range longer.
BrahMos missiles are made in India as part of a partnership between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya. This partnership was set up in 1998.
The name BrahMos comes from the names of two rivers: the Brahmaputra in India and the Moskva in Russia.
The missile can go as fast as 2.8 Mach, which is about 3,450 km/h or 2,148 mph. It is hard for surface-to-air missiles on warships around the world to stop it. It is also very good at getting away from radars.
The missile can fly at an altitude of up to 15 km and as low as 10 metres above the ground. It can carry a conventional (non-nuclear) warhead that weighs between 200 and 300 kg.
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