NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force has conducted a long-range BrahMos strike mission, with the missile launching from an airbase in Punjab on Saturday.
As per details, the BrahMos (also designated as the PJ-10) is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile, which can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft and even land – and is designated as the fastest cruise missile in the world.
Missile Fury Part 2: New #BattleCry episode coming up today focused on the continuing spate of Indian missile tests, missile muscle-flexing & missile inbound soon into service.
SAT 7.30pm
SUN 12.30pm & 8.30pm pic.twitter.com/iEKhhjFD1C— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) October 31, 2020
This recent round of testing has been hailed as a transformative new weapon in their arsenal, especially in the aftermath of the 40-day border stand-off against Chinese army units in the desolate and isolated Galwan Valley.
The BrahMos missile system has also received ‘fleet release clearance’ from the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification, the Indian government’s regulatory and monitoring body which provides the final stamp of approval prior to active military use.
On a social media website statement from the BrahMos Corporation said, “The issuance of fleet release clearance certification has paved the way for pilots of Indian Air Force (IAF) squadrons to use the missile during combat missions”.
BREAKING: The Indian Air Force has just conducted its longest range BrahMos strike mission. A Su-30MKI took off from a Punjab air base, refuelled mid-air and struck a ship target 4,000 km away deep in the Indian Ocean. Target destroyed. (File image). @IndiaToday pic.twitter.com/opwAlvt49Z
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) October 30, 2020
While the military integration of the BrahMos cruise missiles may not be specifically linked with the intense India-China border standoff, this rapid testing and combat clearance comes at a time when China has repeatedly deployed both ground and air assets to project their aggressive posturing along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
