‘Direct hit on the target’: IAF successfully tests BrahMos missile from Su30-MkI

The Indian Air Force (IAF), in coordination with the Indian Navy, on Tuesday successfully tested a BrahMos missile from a Su30-MkI aircraft on the Eastern seaboard. “Today on the Eastern seaboard, IAF undertook live firing of BrahMos missile from a Su30 MkI aircraft. The missile achieved a direct hit on the target, a decommissioned Indian Navy ship.

The mission was undertaken in close coordination with @indiannavy,” the IAF tweeted.

The BrahMos missile provides the IAF with a much-desired capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target at sea or land with pinpoint accuracy by day or night and in all weather conditions. The capability of the missile coupled with the high performance of the Su-30MKI aircraft gives the IAF a strategic reach and allows it to dominate the battlefields over land and sea.

On April 11, India had successfully tested a locally developed anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), Helina, from the advanced light helicopter (ALH) at a high altitude, paving the way for the weapon’s integration with the chopper. This test came on the back of a series of trials conducted at the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan.

The test was jointly conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Indian Air Force and the army. Helina or helicopter-based Nag missile can strike targets up to seven km away.

The fire-and-forget missile, guided by an infrared imaging seeker system, successfully engaged a simulated tank target at high-altitude ranges, the defence ministry had said in a statement.

On March 23, India tested a surface-to-surface BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in Andaman and Nicobar. Defence officials said the extended range missile had hit its target with pinpoint accuracy.