Indian military tests supersonic cruise missile
Published: Sep 5, 2010 16:21 Updated: Sep 5, 2010 22:05
NEW DELHI: India successfully tested on Sunday a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile as part of ongoing trials to fine-tune its ability to hit targets, an official said.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan regularly test missiles, and normally only give each other advance notice for long-range launches. It was not immediately clear whether India informed Pakistan ahead of Sunday’s test.
The missile was fired from the country’s testing range in the eastern state of Orissa, a defense official said. He said the BrahMos can be used for surgical strikes, such as targeting terrorist training camps or underground bunkers. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The missile can fly at 2.8 times the speed of sound and can be launched from land, ships, submarines and aircraft. It can carry conventional warheads weighing 620 280 to 300 kg and has a maximum range of 290 km.
The BrahMos, jointly developed by India and Russia, has already been deployed by one army battalion. However, Indian defense research scientists frequently conduct tests of the missile to improve its performance, including its ability to hit targets, the official said.
The BrahMos is named after India’s Brahmaputra and Russia’s Moskva Rivers.
India’s missile arsenal also includes the short-range Prithvi missile, the anti-tank Nag missile, the short-range surface-to-air Trishul missile, and the medium-range Agni missile.
In another development, Indian and Russian companies signed a deal that will see Indian buses guided by a Russian satellite navigation system, the news agency Interfax reported Saturday.
India’s HBL Power Systems and Russia’s Navigation Information Systems (NIS) agreed on the Russian program, based on the Glonass and GPS satellite systems.
They are to be delivered to HBL at a date still to be specified.
Indian buses will also be equipped with automatic control technology, and means of programming and changing set routes and analyzing efficiency.
The Glonass system, operated by the Russian Defense Ministry, was developed in the eighties by the Soviet Army to compete with the GPS satellite navigation system used by the United States.

Comments
SINKESH
Sep 6, 2010 00:35
Report abuseADNAN
Sep 6, 2010 22:07
Report abuseSOMIA
Sep 6, 2010 22:23
Report abuseM. RIAZ
Sep 6, 2010 22:29
Report abuseM. A.KHAN
Sep 7, 2010 00:29
Report abuse