BrahMos success

BrahMos in its second developmental flight, in the ship-launch configuration from land at the Interim Test Range in Orissa on April 28, 2002. - BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The third flight test of BrahMos, the supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia, is completed successfully.

BRAHMOS, the supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia, was flight-tested successfully for the third time on February 12.

The importance of the mission lies in the fact that it was for the first time that the missile was ship-launched, from the Indian Navy vessel Rajput, off the Orissa coast. The first developmental flight took place on June 12, 2001, from the Interim Test Range (ITR), Orissa, when the missile flew out of a canister (silo on land). The second developmental flight, on April 28, 2002, a prelude to the latest one, was in a ship-launch configuration from land, at the ITR.

The third flight has provided enhanced missile capability to the Navy. Western countries do not have a supersonic cruise missile; they have only subsonic ones, which travel at speeds less than that of sound. Russia has sold a supersonic cruise missile, Moskit, to China. But that has a lower speed and a shorter range than BrahMos.

Defence Minister George Fernandes said after the BrahMos launch: "The missile was successfully test-fired from a naval ship off Balasore. The missile followed the predicted trajectory and accurately hit the target."

Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of BrahMos, the joint venture Indo-Russian company that manufactures the missile, told Frontline: "We had a very successful test. Everything went as per our predictions. The mission met its various requirements. The important thing is that we launched it from a ship for the first time." Dr. Pillai is also Chief Controller, Research and Development, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), New Delhi.

The BrahMos joint venture company is responsible for designing, developing, producing and marketing the missile. The portmanteau term BrahMos stands for the Brahmaputra and Moscow rivers. Both Indian and Russian missile technologists were present during the launch.

The eight-metre-long BrahMos is essentially an anti-ship missile that carries only conventional warheads. It weighs three tonnes and carries a 200 kg warhead. It travels at 2.8 to three times the speed of sound (Mach 2.8 to 3) and can smash a ship located 280 km away. It is a two-stage vehicle with a solid propellant booster and a liquid (propellant) ram jet system. It can be launched from multiple platforms - from land, ships, submarines and aircraft. It can also soar from a mobile complex on land (Frontline, July 6, 2001 and June 21, 2002).

Missile technologists point out that there are critical differences between a land-launch and a ship-launch. The latter is a demanding mission. On land, there is a stable platform. But a ship keeps moving, and rough waters cause rolling and pitching. On land, safety distance can be maintained. Besides, there is a protected Block House from where mission personnel can monitor the flight. However, there is no protected area in a ship. "So the safety of the ship is very important," a technologist said. Moreover, when a missile takes off from a ship, a violent reaction is imparted to the launch platform. This should not harm the ship. Also the launch point from the ship is important because the missile should not reach the land. There should be a safety corridor all round. "The platform is moving. The target is moving. So sea conditions play a role. It is, therefore, a critical mission," the technologist said.

The ship-based launch configuration is at 15o angle of elevation, which is very low. Yet the missile should cruise in the atmosphere at a particular height and constant speed. But when it is launched in a vertical configuration from a canister, then it turns towards the target, with 360o capability. "You can turn this missile in any direction. That is why we launch it vertically," the technologist observed.

There were other constraints in launching the missile from a ship. On land, all the instruments for tracking the vehicle are available, but on a ship out in the sea there is the distance from the shore to be taken into account."We have to, therefore, deploy multiple telemetry systems,'' he said.

The final trials of BrahMos will start in a few months and production will begin in 2004.

Dr. V.K. Aatre, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, told reporters in Bangalore on December 12, 2002, that for the Indian side of the production, two private industrial groups had been identified as major partners, along with several smaller ones.

As the missile goes from the development stage into the production phase, a consortium of major industries in India and Russia are manufacturing various systems, subsystems and components needed for it. The missile will be manufactured in both Moscow and Hyderabad. Facilities have been set up for the integration and testing of BrahMos in Hyderabad. This facility will enable many industries to take part in the manufacture of components and integration of the missile.