Current Affairs

Issue

The new sea-to-sea variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was test fired from INS Vishakhapatnam.

Details

• The naval variant was initially tested in October and December 2020 from the Navy’s indigenously-built stealth destroyers INS Chennai and Rajput-class destroyer INS Ranvijay.

• It can be launched either in a vertical or a horizontal mode from moving/stationary assets to target both land and sea targets.

Significance

The missile provides additional operational capabilities to the Navy. It also certifies the accuracy of the ship’s combat system.

BrahMos

• BrahMos is joint collaboration between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Mashinostroyenia of Russia.

• It is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets.

• The initial range of the missile was capped at 290 km but will soon be extended after India became a member of MTCR. It can now be extended to 450 km and to 600km at a later stage.

INS Vishakhapatnam

INS Vishakhapatnam is the first of the Project-15B class stealth guided missile destroyers constructed indigenously.