Here's All You Need To Know About The Deadliest Cruise Missile In The World - BrahMos

Update: The world's fastest cruise missile, the Brahmos may soon be sold to friendly nations by India and Russia. Vietnam, which has shown interest in the missile, is likely to be the first customer. Other countries that the missile might be exported to include UAE, South Africa and Chile.

India¡¯s BrahMos cruise missile is a one-of-a-kind in the world. Jointly developed with Russia, it is one of the most versatile weapons in service with the Indian Armed Forces. Here¡¯s what makes it the weapon the enemy fears most.

Wikimedia Commons

It¡¯s really, really fast

Wikimedia Commons

The BrahMos flies at over three times the speed of sound. There aren¡¯t any fighter planes in active service anywhere in the world that can fly that fast. So catching the BrahMos in flight is nearly impossible. This speed also gives it the lots of kinetic energy to obliterate the target. Doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a concrete bunker or a navy ship, if the BrahMos has been launched, it's bye-bye enemy.

It¡¯s versatile

The missile can be launched in a number of ways. It can be launched from land when mounted on trucks, from navy ships, and an air launched version is also in the works. The Indian Air Force is expected to equip 40 Sukhoi-30MKi air dominance fighters with the latter. The BrahMos can either be launched vertically or in the conventional combat firing mode. It has already proved its underwater launch capability, so it¡¯s quite likely that India¡¯s future submarines will be equipped with it too. It has pierced target ships at just above the water line when fired in the sea skimming mode, making it the only sea skimming supersonic missile in the world.

It¡¯s extremely accurate

During one of the tests, the missile was able to discern between a group of buildings in an urban environment and hit the designated target. Also, it¡¯s the only missile in the world that can maneuver at supersonic speeds. The Block-III missile dived on the target from the top, while travelling at Mach 2.8. This steep diving capability lets the Army target the enemy hiding behind geographical features like hills where traditional artillery fire may not be able to reach. In most tests, it has flown more than 290 km to hit targets no bigger than 5 meters in size. That¡¯s like making a sniper shot.

It¡¯s about to get deadlier

Shiv Aroor

The next generation of the missile, tentatively named BrahMos ¨C II will be able to fly even faster. It will be able to fly at hypersonic speeds, at up to seven times the speed of sound, making it nearly impossible to stop. Before that though, a smaller version called Brahmos-M is also being made. It¡¯s smaller, but as fast and has the same range, so fighter planes like Su-30 Mki and Mig-29K can carry more than one missile.

Here¡¯s a glimpse of what the missile can do