In news– India Successfully test fired an extended range sea-to-sea variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Indian Navy’s newly commissioned INS Visakhapatnam (newest indigenously-built guided missile destroyer) recently.
About the Naval variant BrahMos missile-
- It has the capability to hit sea-based targets beyond radar horizon.
- It was deployed by the Navy on its warships first in 2005.
- It was originally tested in October and December 2020 from the Navy’s indigenously-built stealth destroyer INS Chennai and Rajput-class destroyer INS Ranvijay, respectively.
- This version was designed to launch either in a vertical or a horizontal mode from moving/stationary assets to target both land and sea targets.
- The missiles, fired at a speed of 2.8 Mach or nearly three times the speed of sound, significantly increase the capability of the ships in engaging long-range targets.
- BrahMos missiles are designed and developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture company set up by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
- Originally introduced in 2001, variations of these supersonic missiles can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, and land platforms.
- BrahMos missiles that fly almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8, are being extended from the original 290-km to 350-400 km now.
- India and Russia are also developing a new version of BrahMos with an 800-km strike range.
Difference between cruise missile and ballistic missile-
- Cruise missiles are unmanned vehicles that are self propelled by jet engines, much like an airplane. They can be launched from ground, air, or sea platforms.
- Ballistic missiles are powered initially by a rocket or series of rockets in stages, but then follow an unpowered trajectory that arches upwards before descending to reach its intended target.
- A ballistic missile’s flight path is like a large arc up and back down again(parabolic path).
- Ballistic missiles first came into use during World War II, when the Germans used a ballistic missile called the V-2 to attack London.
- Ballistic missiles can cover large distances and are typically launched into a high suborbital spaceflight. And they have e three stages of flight:
- Boost Phase begins at launch.
- Midcourse Phase begins after the rocket(s) stops firing.
- Terminal Phase begins when the detached warhead(s) reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and ends upon impact or detonation.
- Unlike the long arcing trajectory of a ballistic missile, a cruise missile travels at lower altitudes and on far straighter trajectories.
- Nearly all of the longer-range ballistic missiles and various types of cruise missiles carry nuclear warheads.
- Ballistic Missiles rely on earth for gravity targets, whereas cruise missiles don’t rely on the earth.
- Examples of India’s Ballistic missiles– Agni-I,II and III), Prithvi-II and Danush.
- Examples of India’s Cruise missiles- Prahar, BrahMos(I & II), Nirbhay etc.
Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/brahmos-missile/
Source: Indian Express
