BrahMos missile "first of its kind" in the world to be integrated on fighter aircraft: HAL

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/india/indi...tegration-gets-closer-to-reality_1980605.html

First Published: Thursday, February 23, 2017 - 20:49

India will achieve this unique capability when IAF's frontline fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30 MKI will test fire a 2,500 kg BrahMos air-to-ground missile in the coming months. Some reports have claimed that the test firing will be held in April.

The IAF had, last June, flown with a 'dummy bomb' and had been preparing for the actual test firing since then.

With a range of over 290 kms, the BrahMos, onboard the Sukhoi-30 MKI, will provide the IAF the lethal capability to strike deep inside enemy territory without the risks involved in entering a heavily defended airspace.

Integration of BrahMos with Su-30 MKI will render the weapon a multi-platform capability, allowing the IAF to deliver a deadly blow to their vital installations from stand-off ranges.

The integration brings a paradigm shift in the capability of the IAF vis-a-vis its adversaries.

The Su-30-Brahmos combination will carry out air combat operations within and beyond visibility range and will provide the IAF with the capability of attacking targets protected by powerful air defence assets.

Around 40 Su-30 MKI aircraft are expected to be modified to make them capable of carrying BrahMos.

 

[X_Killer]

 

[Hindustani78]

A file picture of a Sukhoi Sukhoi combat aircraft. | Photo Credit: Rajeev Bhatt
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...40-sukhoi-aircraft-begins/article21826299.ece

New Delhi, December 17, 2017 12:19 IST
Updated: December 17, 2017 12:29 IST

It is learnt that the project is expected to be completed by 2020.

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-ton 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, 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.

Brahmos missile is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on India’s Su-30 fighter aircraft.

Once the project to integrate the weapon on the combat fleet was over, the IAF capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target in sea or land is expected to go up manifold.

“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 battle fields.

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 (NPOM) of Russia.

*********
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/648720/40-more-fighter-jets-armed.html

New Delhi, DH News Service, Dec 17 2017, 21:47 IST

Equipping the first two combat jets with the supersonic missile took several years as the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) delivered the first aircraft on February 19, 2015 after a 12-month cycle and the second aircraft took another 10 months. PTI photo.

Close on the heels of the first successful firing of Brahmos cruise missile from a Su-30MKI aircraft, the Indian Air Force has set up a target of arming 40 more fighter jets with the weapon in two-three years.

Equipping the first two combat jets with the supersonic missile took several years as the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) delivered the first aircraft on February 19, 2015 after a 12-month cycle and the second aircraft took another 10 months.

The IAF officials hope that since the HAL has gathered enough experience with the first two fighters, arming the rest by 2020 will not be a problem.

The work has begun to jerry-rig four more operational Su-30MKI because the remaining 36 aircraft would be the new jets that the HAL is contracted to deliver to the IAF.

India purchased 272 Su-30 MKI for the IAF, out of which 236 jets have been delivered to the IAF by the HAL. The public sector aviation major targets to complete the entire delivery by 2019-20.

Between 1996 and 2010, New Delhi and Moscow signed four agreements to purchase 272 Sukhoi in four batches. While the first 50 aircraft came from Russia, the rest were to be manufactured at the HAL.

Missile range

The Brahmos to be fitted on to the Su-30MKI will have a range of more than 400 km.

After India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016, the range of the Brahmos missile was upgraded to nearly 450 km from its earlier version of 290 km. The MTCR barred countries to transfer missiles of more than 300-km range to another nation.

Currently, nine naval warships - Kolkata class, Teg class and Ranvir class - are fitted with the 290-km version of Brahmos. Ditto for the army, which has two regiments of Brahmos.

But the second bunch of the naval warships - Delhi class, Talwar class and Shivalik class - will get the long-range Brahmos when they go for mid-life upgrade. The IAF will have only the longer-range missile.