Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile : News, Updates and Discussions
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Backed by BrahMos, Navy’s Minicoy base to keep watch over Arabian Sea
Radars, jetties, airfield and BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles - the Indian Navy’s newest base being established on Minicoy Island in Lakshadweep, INS Jatayu, will have all these and many more. The upgrade is part of a long-term capability development plan which officials and experts say will shore up India’s security footprint in the islands located very close to critical Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC).
This is especially significant as Chinese naval footprint, which includes ‘research vessels’, has seen massive expansion in the Indian Ocean. Minicoy is also just few hundred miles from Maldives.
In addition to INS Jatayu, new infrastructure and facilities were inaugurated at the Karwar naval base in Karnataka by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. These include two major piers and seven residential towers comprising 320 houses for officers and civilian defence personnel as well as 149 single officers’ accommodation.
“New radar facilities at Minicoy will augment surveillance and coastal batteries of extended range BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles with a range of around 450 km will give huge flexibility in responding to threats,” officials in the know said. It will be a phased expansion and in sync with the overall effort to develop the island chains around the country, officials stated.
“As we commission Jatayu, it is crucial to recognise the pressing need for heightened surveillance amidst the prevailing geopolitical developments which underscore the strategic significance of Lakshadweep to India. The Indian Ocean Region is witnessing an upsurge in maritime terror, crime, and piracy,” Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar said at the commissioning of INS Jatayu. “INS Baaz to the east in Andamans and now, INS Jatayu in the west at Minicoy, will serve as the eyes and ears of the Navy,” he stated.
Lakshadweep, India’s smallest Union Territory, is an archipelago consisting of 36 islands with an area of 32 sq km. It comprises 12 atolls, three reefs, five submerged banks and 10 inhabited islands. All Islands are 220-440 km away from Kochi in Kerala.
“Jatayu will be the ‘watchkeeper’ for Bharat at the gateway of Arabian Sea,” said Vice-Admiral Shekhar Sinha, former Western Naval Commander, noting its proximity to the busy Nine Degree Channel, the approximately 200-km wide area between Minicoy and Kalpeni/Suheli Par islands of Lakshadweep. Situated at the tip of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), it also serves as a deterrent against any future adversarial presence, making Jatayu a “formidable static aircraft carrier”. “Unfolding geopolitical canvas in the Indian Ocean calls for fortification of Minicoy Island, a valuable asset. Apart from becoming a tourist paradise, Minicoy has potential of becoming a formidable gatekeeper of Arabian Sea,” he told The Hindu.
The first Commanding officer of INS Jatayu is Commander Vrat Baghel, and it will function under the operational control of Naval Officer-in-Charge (Lakshadweep), Southern Naval Command.
In recent years, there has also been a particular increase in smuggling of narcotics while illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing has been observed in Central Arabian Sea and Southwest Indian Ocean beyond the Indian EEZ. While trawlers from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are engaged in IUU fishing, a majority of them are Chinese.
Further, Vice-Admiral Sinha added that surveillance assets at Jatayu could feed into the Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region’s (IFC-IOR) Maritime Domain Awareness network and provide the edge to Quad in the emerging world order. “Creation of strong countermeasure assets would become essential to protect India’s national interests.”
There is already an ongoing effort for infrastructure augmentation by the Central government in coordination with Island Development Authority and NITI Aayog.
For instance, the NITI Aayog has joined hands with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India for expansion of Agatti airfield amid increased demand from tourists while Larsen & Toubro has been given a ₹4,500-crore contract to expand the runway to 2,800 meters. For Minicoy, there is plan for the development of greenfield dual-use airfield which will have a longer runway making it capable of handling the Navy’s P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft and medium- and long-endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
Karwar naval base
The Phase I construction of Karwar base under Project Seabird, which was completed in 2011, was designed to accommodate 10 ships and comprised a breakwater, a pier capable of berthing 10 ships, a 10,000-tonne ship lift and dry berth, a naval ship repair yard, logistics and armament storage facilities, accommodation for 1,000 personnel, a headquarters, and a 141-bed Naval Hospital.The Cabinet Committee on Security has since granted approval for Phase IIA of Project Seabird which will see the base expanded for berthing of 32 ships and submarines, along with 23 yardcraft and include piers designed to accommodate ships and submarines, providing a berthing space of more than 6 km, technical facilities, electrical substations, switch gears, and support utilities. “The centrepiece of Phase IIA works is an iconic Covered Dry Berth, standing at a height of 75 meters, taller than the Qutub Minar in Delhi, and spread over 33,000 sq.m land area,” according to the Navy. “This dry berth is designed to facilitate simultaneous docking and comprehensive enclosed maintenance of up to four capital ships.”
In Phase IIA, four different townships encompassing residential accommodations, with about 10,000 dwelling units of all types for officers, senior and junior sailors and defence civilian staff, is being constructed while a green field dual-use naval sir station with 2,700-metre runway is in the works along with a civil-enclave which will facilitate operations of commercial aircraft flights.
Once fully operational, with an estimated 50,000 individuals residing in the naval facilities spread over a 25-km expanse, a substantial contribution to the local economy is foreseen, the Navy added.
The ongoing situation in the Red Sea with continuing drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping and increasing piracy attacks in Gulf of Aden underscore the importance of the region for global trade. For instance, over 90% of the India’s trade flows through the sea.
Drop and dummy test scheduled for Indo-Russian BrahMos missile
BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian multinational defence company, will start drop and dummy testing of the lighter and smaller New Generation (NG) BrahMos missile by mid-2025, with flight trials expected by the end of the same year.
“By 2026, we will induct [the missile] into the Indian Air Force (IAF),” claimed Atul Dinkar Rane, director general of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and CEO and managing director of BrahMos Aerospace.
On BrahMos Aerospace awaiting funds from sales of the NG, Rane – who was speaking at the NDTV Defence Summit in Delhi on March 7 – remarked: “We have finished the blueprint stage and [are] getting into [the] cutting [of] metal. The missile will be one-third the size of the current model and half of its weight. This will enable two missiles on a single aircraft.
BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian multinational defence company, will start drop and dummy testing of the lighter and smaller New Generation (NG) BrahMos missile by mid-2025, with flight trials expected by the end of the same year.
“By 2026, we will induct [the missile] into the Indian Air Force (IAF),” claimed Atul Dinkar Rane, director general of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and CEO and managing director of BrahMos Aerospace.
On BrahMos Aerospace awaiting funds from sales of the NG, Rane – who was speaking at the NDTV Defence Summit in Delhi on March 7 – remarked: “We have finished the blueprint stage and [are] getting into [the] cutting [of] metal. The missile will be one-third the size of the current model and half of its weight. This will enable two missiles on a single aircraft.
su30 & tejas squadron with NG in ANC can change the dynamics anytime. I hope they are able to upgrade the NG version to 400km at least like the airlaunch version. All 4 versions should be operated from every over the sea bases.
NG will be operational on all our jets including Rafale and Jaguars, IIRC. It'll definitely be a great deterrent. But MKI + BrahMos A combo shall remain our most lethal combo against enemy ships. 800kms BrahMos ER when fired from Su-30MKI at high altitude will easily have 1000+ kms range. Just think about that range, sea skimming ability, end game maneuverability, low RCS and Mach 3+ speed throughout the envelope and it is a legit nightmare for our enemies.
There is some new propulsion stage proto related work planned under Programme PJ-10
Nice pic.
Nice pic.
Seems Lingana ji forgot to proof read his latest article, on NG Brahmos.
www.dailyexcelsior.com
Brahmos Missile Makes Big Impact
By Girish Linganna India has been aiming to enhance its defense capabilities through the development of a more compact and efficient version of the BrahMos missile. BrahMos Aerospace, a defense corporation with Indo-Russian roots, is set to begin drop and dummy trials of the lighter and more...
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By working further on enhancement of Brahmos' propulsion, we may further the range from 800kms+, which we would be absolutely awesome.
What is the need to achieve more than 800-1000km band of range for the land launched cruise missile , the further out should be done via air launched/ship launched version. Major work needed inside for the propulsion (ie extended period of time of flight). Better to deliver better accuracy as if speed is your main asset , terminal accuracy would suffer.
This Onyx concept is a very good anti ship option no doubt, but as a very fast cruise vehicle stretching it too far over 800km range while keeping the speed nearly the same/minor upgrade to 3.5 mach would impact performance imo. Want to hit a land target over 1000km? use a quasi ballistic high payload delivery option.
Basically my point is, doing a very precision strike while stretching your arms too far out is kinda sketchy. Its ok if you have usa like resources, tomahawk missile is highly dependent on other technical aspects like tercom, high quality guidance & omnipresent satcom too. Until we have such extensive enabling network, long range precision systems at 800-1000km is ok imo.
This Onyx concept is a very good anti ship option no doubt, but as a very fast cruise vehicle stretching it too far over 800km range while keeping the speed nearly the same/minor upgrade to 3.5 mach would impact performance imo. Want to hit a land target over 1000km? use a quasi ballistic high payload delivery option.
Basically my point is, doing a very precision strike while stretching your arms too far out is kinda sketchy. Its ok if you have usa like resources, tomahawk missile is highly dependent on other technical aspects like tercom, high quality guidance & omnipresent satcom too. Until we have such extensive enabling network, long range precision systems at 800-1000km is ok imo.
Most probably for hypersonic testbed, using IRNSS for nav?
thats right , unless there is satcom or external guidance it will be hard to hit the target. Further the target more the area it needs to scan. For a fixed target it might look ok but for mobile targets, chances of hitting decreases further we go .
1500 kms BrahMos was always the plan for quite some time:
Source: India now working on 1,500-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile
Source: India now working on 1,500-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile
Yeah, hence I was curious as to why the user would need a precision cruise weapon with a limited warhead 200-300kg, that needs to neutralise a perceived high priority threat over 1K km away while maintaining its flight profile (terminal stage very low flying mode or steep down attack whichever) which was initially a concept to neutralise a ship sized target.
Say , you have the fixed/part mobile target at far out 1300km like a train shop with loaded war cargo inside a large setup, or at a junction station still waiting on the rail track before moving elsewhere. Estimate is about same 300kg class warhead can maybe neutralise it. If you have option of both Brahmos and Shaurya like quasi BM with 300kg warhead , what would you choose for this mission? A third option is also there as a missile option is long range Nirbhay class with a large conventional payload of 700kg-1 ton. So what would you choose?
yes that can be too esp as they have shown plans to upgrade the speed profile to 5 mach , assuming all other technical parameters remain the same, compared to the current 2.3-2.5 mach cruising Brahmos, a 5mach one obviously gets to such extended very long range.
My question is mostly centered on payload part, would it not be better to trade some range for a bigger 500kg class payload? current conflict shows us the need for high level damage.
What about pounding the same 1500kms range target with BrahMos, Shaurya & Nirbhay at the same/similar time from different vectors to break, saturate and overwhelm the enemy formidable IADS network to take out a high value target
Rest with time we shall know more.......
That is in the latter part of a conflict with far more Ad challenge maybe. For now just consider a test case under normal circumstances. Is it logical to just prolong the reach of the arm or better to improve the enabling technologies and the lethality of the weapon? As an anti ship weapon it is definitely something an armed force would like no doubt. But as an all round choice ie land attack role from multiple platforms, perhaps it is better to improve the payload and the accuracy too because the faster it gets and the further it goes, that accuracy part will be first to be hampered imo. Seeker tech need to be very precise, actuated controls and terminal guidance also need to be more precise etc.What about pounding the same 1500kms range target with BrahMos, Shaurya & Nirbhay at the same/similar time from different vectors to break, saturate and overwhelm the enemy formidable IADS network to take out a high value target
Rest with time we shall know more.......
This is primarily an anti ship missile... Wanna know what it is good for?
With Brahmos 800 KM variant
With 1500 KM variant:
You dig tunnels to secure mobile Brahmos batteries on Andoman and Nicorbar Islands. Hide the missile batteries, provide cover with vegetation. Put few S-400s and MR SAM for good measure and provide air cover from main land and / or air base in Andoman and boom, you have an unsinkable aircraft carrier and destroyer. No submarine can do anything to it. No amount of bombardment can sink it.
What is the chance that the seeker would pick up another ship & then we will be in the middle of another international controversy? That lane is quite busy you know, far busy than the vast open backyard of ours. We think in very lateral terms, war planners need to consider parallel aspects too.
I already addressed the anti ship utility part in the last post above. My query was regarding an allround attack option like how Brahmos is touted now. Even aside that, warfare still need to respect international laws. So prolonging the reach is not the matter, making it more precise is where the task is hard. The scramjet powered one, that will be about 800-900km max due to operational time constraint. From use case perspective, it makes little sense to extend the reach only while sacrificing other parameters. That is why the armed forces still test it so often.
When there will be war, India will declare a blockade of that Strait for Any Chinese ship. Naturally any ships will avoid that route. It will further put pressure on China to not escalate or it will become everyone's problem very soon.
It will also bring likes of America into that part of ocean, further making things hard for Chinese navy. I mean if Yemen can cause havoc with their premitive drones, Indian military can cause massive disrruption to China.
I doubt that would be the case and in such easy permutation. Some form of blockade will be there of course, but not in such extent of Brahmos use case.
Anyway, I was pointing out in technical part mainly ie whether a ramjet can keep functional for such very long duration use or the existing seeker, guidance capacity, ECCM feature etc without any compromise of the unique usp that the original concept offered. 800-900km is very good ability itself, plus you have it on su30 means an extended reach anyway. Stretch it more to 1500km under current DRDO ability and you might lose its sharp effectiveness. Anything over 1000km band should go to LR-AShM jurisdiction, which is what it is being built for.