India successfully test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from INS Kolkata

India has successfully test-fired its 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Navy’s indigenously built destroyer INS Kolkata.
The successful test fire of missile took place off the Goa coast after it met all its designed test parameters. Thus, showcasing INS Kolkata’s capability of firing the BrahMos missiles.

About INS Kolkata

• INS Kolkata was commissioned by the Indian Navy on 16 August 2014. The ship was indigenously built by Mazagon Dockyards Limited under Project 15-Alpha series.
• INS Kolkata has unique feature of firing 16 BrahMos missiles in one go in salvo mode compared to normal destroyer which has the capacity to fire eight missiles.
• The ship also equipped with the Universal Vertical Launcher (UVLM) which is designed, developed and patented by BrahMos Aerospace. UVLM provides ship with the benefits of stealth and permits launching of the missile vertically in any direction.

About BrahMos missile

• BrahMos supersonic cruise missile designed and developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture of India and Russia. Missile’s name has been derived from the names of two rivers, India’s Brahmaputra River and Russia’s Moskva River.
• Features- It is capable of carrying a warhead of 300 kilogram and has top supersonic speed of Mach 2.8. It is two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant.
• BrahMos has already been inducted into the Indian Army and Navy. While, the Air Force version is in final stage of trial.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2015