PART : IV : India’s 'Carrier Killer': The Air-Launched BrahMos Missile

SOURCE:
https://thediplomat.com/2017/12/indias-carrier-killer-the-air-launched-brahmos-missile/http://www.brahmos.com/content.php?id=19

Refer to 

PART  : I


http://bcvasundhra.blogspot.in/2017/12/what-good-are-indian-navys-aircraft.html

 PART  :  II

http://bcvasundhra.blogspot.in/2017/12/defence-maritime-backgrounder-to.html

PART:  III

http://bcvasundhra.blogspot.in/2017/12/part-indias-evolving-maritime-strategy.html 

PART - IV

http://bcvasundhra.blogspot.in/2017/12/indias-carrier-killer-air-launched.html 


PART - V 


http://bcvasundhra.blogspot.in/2017/12/part-v-aircraft-carrier-in-indian-naval.html 

                                                        PART : IV

                  India’s 'Carrier Killer': 

     The Air-Launched BrahMos Missile

                                 By 

                        Dinakar Peri

How will seafaring states in the Indian Ocean react to

 the BrahMos ALCM?

December 07, 2017

Last week, a modified Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi

 Su-30MKI fighter jet took off from Kalaikunda 

airbase in West Bengal and fired a BrahMos 

supersonic, nuclear-capable cruise missile at a 

target ship in the Bay of Bengal. Flying over a 

distance of 260 kilometers, the missile 

effectively destroyed the vessel. This test is a 

game changer for Indian offensive prowess in the 

Indian Ocean region as the missile will act as a 

potent aircraft carrier killer due to its speed, range, 

and launch platform.

Technical capabilities

A press release from the Indian Ministry of 

Defence said “the air launched BrahMos missile is a 

2.5 ton supersonic air to surface cruise missile” with

 a range of over 400 kilometers. This particular 

missile test signifies a major leap for the BrahMos 

project and vastly expands India’s anti-

access bubble in the Indian Ocean. Fitting this 

missile on fighter jets enables Indian forces to 

quickly respond to targets at long-range distances. 

As such, this capability now acts as both a deterrent 

to enemy attack and as an offensive weapon.

The mating of the missile with the aircraft, followed

 by its clean separation during the launch, 

represents a significant technological achievement 

by IAF and Defence Research and Development 

Organisation (DRDO) engineers. The development 

of an air-launched platform makes the BrahMos an 

ideal aircraft carrier killer that can keep enemy 

Carrier Strike Group’s (CSG) far from the Indian 

mainland.

A joint venture between India and Russia, the 

BrahMos derives its name from Brahmaputra and 

Moskva rivers. Previous versions have already been 

deployed by the Army and Navy. In fact, the anti-ship

 variant was the first to be tested and subsequently 

deployed on frontline warships, greatly augmenting 

the Navy’s first strike capabilities. BrahMos began as

 an anti-ship warfare missile which means it already

 has the ability to pick and destroy solitary ships 

operating in the vast expanses of the ocean. 

The Army variant designed to strike targets in urban

 environments with pinpoint accuracy was deployed

 later. Both these variants were major force 

multipliers for the Indian military, but it is the air 

variant which tips the scales for India in the region 

in terms of India’s anti-access reach.

Going into further detail, the BrahMos’ ability to 

overcome the defenses of a CSG is significant. 

Namely, an aircraft carrier is always escorted by a 

battle group, which creates a layered self-defense 

bubble around the carrier. As such, a single 

incoming missile, even at several times the speed of 

sound, could be shot down by the formidable air 

defense systems of the CSG. But a volley of multiple 

BrahMos missiles fired from several Su-30MKI 

aircraft would be a tall order to intercept.

It only takes one successful hit to cripple the carrier

 and thereby render the CSG meaningless. More than the loss of the carrier capability and carrier’s 

enormous cost, the blow to morale due to the loss of 

personnel and national pride would also be 

crippling. It must be remembered that carrier 

operation is a significant technological and financial

 challenge and few nations on this planet maintain 

them.

Implementation and Regional

 Implications

This context demonstrates BrahMos’ potency. The 

missile will also contribute to India’s conventional 

deterrence in that the missile and launch aircraft 

operate in a highly dense electro-magnetic space and

 air defense cover. Having fighter jets equipped with

 BrahMos missiles allows Indian forces to deploy 

those missiles outside the range of enemy air

defenses and destroy command and control centers 

and other critical infrastructure. Once the missile is 

launched, the fighter aircraft can scoot away quickly 

before the adversary can react. The Su-30 has a 

maximum speed of Mach 2 (or 2,470 kilometers per 

hour) and an in-flight range of 3,000 kilometers 

which can be further extended by mid-air refueling, 

vastly expanding the operational footprint. The IAF 

plans to modify at least 40 Su-30MKIs to carry 

the BrahMos missiles. Another factor which further 

enhances this capability is the increasing range of 

the BrahMos.

The range is being extended in stages since India 

joined the Missile Technology Control Regime 

(MTCR) in 2016 from the original 290 kilometers to

 450 kilometers. Work is underway to expand this 

to 600 kilometers.

It is yet to be seen how countries in the Indian Ocean

 will react to this development. When speaking of the

 regional “footprint” of BrahMos in the Indian 

Ocean, China provides the underlying subtext as 

India’s only adversary that operates a 

carrier and is building more. China’s actions in 

the Indian Ocean region have already caused 

concern among Indian strategic thinkers, including

 the 2014 docking of a Chinese submarine in

 Colombo, Sri Lanka. In a recent Navy Day press 

conference, Indian Admiral Sunil Lanba reported 

that there are 

     eight Chinese PLA Navy ships 

deployed in the Indian Ocean at any one time. As 

such, the successful test of the air-launched 

BrahMos last month may impact Beijing’s strategy 

towards the Indian Ocean region.

In sum, last month’s test is the first in a series of 

many developmental tests needed to fully validate 

the BrahMos missile before it can be operationally 

deployed. However, once inducted it will bring 

important improvements to the capacity to the IAF 

in keeping adversaries at a distance.

Dinakar Peri is Defense Correspondent at The Hindu. A version of this piece originally appeared at South Asian Voices, an online platform for strategic analysis and debate hosted by the Stimson Center.

RELATED

SOURCE:

[ http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/work-to-integrate-brahmos-on-40-sukhoi-fighter-aircraft-starts/514925.html ]

Work to integrate BrahMos on 40 Sukhoi fighter aircraft starts

Heaviest weapon on Sukhoi-30

• BrahMos will be the heaviest weapon to be fitted on India’s Su-30 fighter aircraft

• The fleet will undergo structural modifications at state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd 

• With this, IAF capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target on sea or land will rise manifold

• BrahMos is named after two rivers: Brahmaputra and Moskva (flowing in western Russia)

290 km the missile’s range — extendable up to 400 km as certain technical restrictions were lifted after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime in 2016

2.5 tonne the missile’s weight, which flies almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8

2020 year by which the missile- Sukhoi integration project is expected to be completed

Work has begun to integrate the BrahMos 

supersonic cruise missile on 40 Sukhoi 

combat aircraft, which is expected to fulfil 

critical needs of the Indian Air Force in the 

wake of evolving security dynamics in the 

region.

The air-launched variant of the BrahMos, the

 world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile, was

 successfully test-fired from a Sukhoi-30 

combat jet on November 22, marking a 

major milestone to enhance the precision-

strike capability of the Air Force.

The work to integrate the BrahMos missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft has begun. A timeline for the project is being set, official sources said without elaborating.  

It is learnt that the project is expected to be completed by 2020. The fleet of 40 Sukhoi jet will undergo structural modifications at the state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for integration of the missile on them. The 2.5-tonne missile flies almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8 and has a range of 290 km. 

The range of the missile, an Indo-Russia joint venture, can be extended up to 400 km as certain technical restrictions were lifted after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) last year.

“It is a very important project considering IAF’s evolving requirement to boost air power when the possibility of a two-front war cannot be ruled out,” said an official.

After the test firing of the air-launched version, the IAF had said the missile coupled with the superlative performance of the Su-30 aircraft will give the force a strategic reach and will allow it to dominate the ocean and the battlefields. The integration of the missile on Sukhoi aircraft is a very complex process involving mechanical, electrical and software modifications of the Su-30 jet. BrahMos is a joint venture between DRDO of India and NPO Mashinostroyenia of Russia. 

FOR FURTHER DETAILS READ

[A]  BrahMos     

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrahMos



[B]  BrahMos-II  


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrahMos-II





VIDEOS

[1]  BRAHMOS INDO-RUSSIAN SUPERSONIC 

CRUISE MISSILE TEST VIDEO


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl48bwYBDfA


 [2]  BrahMos Block I - World's Fastest Supersonic 

Cruise Missile from India/Russia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1qqYGjFnQo

[3]