+ghostrider883 526 Posted January 11, 2009 NEW DELHI: Two Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi-30MKI combat jets have been sent to Russia for a retrofit that would enable them launch the aerial version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that India and Russia have jointly developed, an official said. "The aerial version of the BrahMos missiles will be delivered from the Su-30MKI platform. We were in talks with Sukhoi and the IAF for it. Finally two Su-30MKIs of the IAF have been sent to Russia for retrofitting," a senior official of BrahMos Aerospace that manufactures the missile, told IANS, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The aerial version of BrahMos is coming along very well. After being programmed, the missile will be released from the aircraft and will auto-launch towards its target when it reaches an altitude of 50 metres," the official explained. "The aerial version is nearly nine metres long and this requires modifications of the aircraft's fuselage. Since the Sukhoi company is busy with designing a fifth generation fighter, (India's) DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) scientists, along with Russian experts, will carry out the necessary modifications," the official said. The modifications will be completed by early 2010. Once this happens, BrahMos will become a "universal cruise missile" due to its ability to be launched from land, sea - from both ships and submarines - and the air. The land and naval versions have already been inducted into service with the Indian Army and the Indian Navy. The navy has integrated anti-ship versions of the BrahMos on its warships, including INS Rajput, and is integrating it on to two other ships of the same class. The missiles will also be mounted on the three 7,000-tonne Kolkata class destroyers currently being constructed at Mumbai's Mazagon Docks. The navy had Dec 18 last year test-fired the missile from a vertical launcher on a ship in the Bay of Bengal. All earlier launches had been carried out from inclined launchers. The missile, which takes its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, has a range of nearly 300 km and carries a 300 kg conventional warhead. It can achieve speeds of up to 2.8 Mach or nearly three times the speed of sound. BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited was established in India as a joint venture through an inter-governmental agreement signed between India and Russia in February 1998. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atreides 144 Posted January 11, 2009 "Universal missle" ? The range is rather limited don't you think ? Do the Brahmos, in the worst case scenario have the nuclear warhead capability for dealing with one of the U.S' most favoured clientele. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+ghostrider883 526 Posted January 11, 2009 "Universal missle" ? The range is rather limited don't you think ? Do the Brahmos, in the worst case scenario have the nuclear warhead capability for dealing with one of the U.S' most favoured clientele. I think "universal" here meant ability of the missile to be launched from air,land & naval platforms, not the range. Not sure about nuclear capability of the BrahMos. Agnis & Prithvis can carry nuclear warheads , but they of course are land-platform launched ballistic missiles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted January 12, 2009 Modifying the fuselage makes it sound like it's more trouble than it's worth. The USN never bothered to make Tomahawks air-launched. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Typhoid 231 Posted January 12, 2009 (edited) Modifying the fuselage makes it sound like it's more trouble than it's worth. The USN never bothered to make Tomahawks air-launched. had no need to. We use Harpoon. Edited January 12, 2009 by Typhoid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macelena 1,070 Posted January 12, 2009 Modifying the fuselage makes it sound like it's more trouble than it's worth. The USN never bothered to make Tomahawks air-launched. Indeed, the best would be the Taurus, wich can be lunched from Hornets, Typhoons and Gripen (in evaluation as India´s new lightfighter) but once India invested the money in the development of an indigenous weapon, it´s natural that they want to have this, and not any other wich would mean to buy out. If what India wants is to become a local superpower, they will have to rely in their own capability to build weaponry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted January 13, 2009 What I mean is wouldn't it be cheaper/better to make another missile variant that has commonality in the warhead, seeker, and motor but structural changes to make it more viable for air launch from a Flanker? The F-22 didn't get its bays enlarged, they made AIM-120s with smaller fins and SDBs to fit inside. I get the image of that Iranian F-14 carrying a Hawk... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+ghostrider883 526 Posted January 13, 2009 What I mean is wouldn't it be cheaper/better to make another missile variant that has commonality in the warhead, seeker, and motor but structural changes to make it more viable for air launch from a Flanker? The F-22 didn't get its bays enlarged, they made AIM-120s with smaller fins and SDBs to fit inside. I get the image of that Iranian F-14 carrying a Hawk... Jedi, The air launched BrahMos will be shorter in length and most probably be carried in oen of the the belly stations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted January 14, 2009 That Kh-31 just barely fits on the Flanker belly and it's huge, but I've not seen a comparison shot of the Brahmos missile. Of course, sometimes they stick big ones like that on the inboard wing and balance it with some other store if they need the ground clearance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+76.IAP-Blackbird 3,557 Posted January 14, 2009 MKI on the way by inskye group Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+ghostrider883 526 Posted January 21, 2009 "Universal missle" ? The range is rather limited don't you think ? Do the Brahmos, in the worst case scenario have the nuclear warhead capability for dealing with one of the U.S' most favoured clientele. The latest version of Brahmos's surface to surface variant that was test fired day before yesterday is nuclear capable Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
