In an operation aimed to showoff and fine-tune its missile power, the Indian Army, yesterday, test fired the land-attack version of its supersonic cruise missile BrahMos from the Pokhran range in Rajasthan. It was the 18th successful test flight of BrahMos.

Inducted into both the Navy and the Army, BrahMos was jointly developed by India and Russia; its name has come from Indian River Brahmaputra and the Russian River Moscowa.

BrahMos is capable of cruising up to an altitude of 14 km and destroying targets 290 km away. It can be loaded with conventional warheads weighing up to 300 kg, and its speed is almost three times the speed of sound.

BrahMos is well equipped to be launched from land, ships, submarines and aircraft; its configuration is virtually the same for land, sea and sub-sea platforms. Presently, DRDO researchers are working on to make its launch possible from a submarine and an aircraft.  

Presently, the army has one regiment armed with the BrahMos missile.

As the test was conducted in the atmosphere of heightened tension between India and Pakistan after Mumbai attacks, Defence Minister A K Antony clarified that the test was pre-planned and it has nothing to with the ongoing tension with Pakistan.