BrahMos Missiles

BrahMos Missiles
Source: Hindu
GS III: Science and Technology

What is discussed under BrahMos Missiles?

The Defence Ministry signed a 1,700-crore deal with BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd.
The contract includes 35 combat and three training BrahMos supersonic surface-to-surface cruise missiles for the Indian Navy’s two P-15B stealth-guided missile destroyers.

The introduction of these dual-role capable missiles will greatly improve the operating capabilities of Navy fleet assets.
They are designed by the Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design and built by Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.
They have a displacement of 7,400 tonnes with a maximum speed of 30 knots, 63 metres in length and increased stealth characteristics, resulting in a lower radar cross-section.
They are loaded with advanced state-of-the-art armaments and sensors, such as BrahMos and Barak-8 Surface-to-Air missiles.

About Project 15B

Four stealth-guided missile destroyers are being built under Project-15B at a cost of around 29,643.74 crores as a follow-up to the Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyers.
These destroyers have been named after key cities in four corners of the country:
- Imphal, Surat, Visakhapatnam, and Mormugao.
While the INS Visakhapatnam was commissioned by the end of 2021, the other three have already entered service.
The lead ship of the Project 15B stealth-guided missile destroyers was INS Visakhapatnam, which was built at Mazgaon Docks Limited (MDL).
This was created by the Directorate of Naval Design, the Indian Navy’s in-house design group.

The BrahMos missile is a collaboration between the DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
It takes its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers.
Photo by Taylor Peake on Unsplash
The missile, which can be fired from land, sea, subsea, and air against the surface and marine-based targets, has long been used by the Indian military.
The missile’s range was initially limited to 290 kilometres due to Missile Technology Control Regime requirements (MTCR).
Following India’s admission to the club in June 2016, DRDO officials claimed that the range will be increased to 450 km and, ultimately, 600 km.
The ER version has been tested on numerous vessels, notably INS Visakhapatnam.
It has major indigenous weapons including:
- BrahMos Surface-to-Surface Missiles from BAPL
- Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (BEL, Bangalore)
- Indigenous Torpedo Tube Launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai)
- 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (BHEL, Haridwar)
- Anti-Submarine Indigenous Rocket Launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai)
It is being propelled by four powerful Gas Turbines in a Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) configuration.

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