Hooghly dry run sets NE stage for BrahMos Unit

[GR!FF!N]

An Army unit that will be deployed to the Northeast before long as the third BrahMos regiment has set up base on the outskirts of Kolkata and is using the Hooghly channel for simulated trials.



The supersonic missiles, two regiments of which have already been delivered to the Army, have a range of 290km and can move at speeds of Mach 2.8. The third regiment is to be deployed in the Northeast along the Line of Actual Control.



“The supersonic missiles will add punch to India’s military set-up in the Northeast. It will be an effective deterrent. There are high mountain ranges along the LAC and if India was to ever consider a strike into China, the best route for the missiles would be along the Brahmaputra channel. The unit that will ultimately form the third BrahMos regiment has been placed strategically on the banks of the Hooghly near Kolkata,” a source revealed.


“By the time they are relocated to the Northeast, the unit will have a fair idea of how to handle the missiles so they reach enemy territory undetected along the Brahmaputra that flows into Arunachal Pradesh from China,” the source added.


Due to the lack of mountain radars, not much is known of the movement on the Chinese side. According to officials, the mountain ranges along the LAC provide cover to the Indians as well. “Just as we are blind to the goings-on and troop movement on the other side, the Chinese are in no better position,” another source said.



“According to our estimates, any air or missile attack that the Chinese consider will be along the Brahmaputra channel as such movement is very difficult to detect. We are now thinking on the same lines. If India were to launch a retaliatory attack on the Chinese, it would have to be along the Brahmaputra,” the source added.


Though the channels of the Hooghly and the Brahmaputra don’t exactly match, the Army is trying to give its officers and men a feel of how to operate the supersonic cruise missiles along a river. Just like the Brahmaputra, the Hooghly too has several bends that will have to be negotiated by the missile on its way to its target.



BrahMos missiles have the capability of flying at a height of barely 10 metres and strike surface targets. The Army wants the missiles to skip the surface of the river to avoid detection by enemy radar.



Incidentally, the distance from Kolkata to the estuary point (in the Bay of Bengal) along the Hooghly is 148km. The officers can set mock targets on either bank and carry out simulated strikes. This will make their job easier if the need arises to use the missiles for real. The Army unit also makes use of small- and medium-sized vessels to move along the Hooghly for closer inspection and setting of targets.



“The Army has gone in for the Block-II variant of the BrahMos, which has target discrimination capabilities. The ground systems and the missiles of this variant are more advanced and can carry out ‘fly and forget’ attacks on selected targets,” the source said.


Each BrahMos regiment comprises 65 missiles, 5 mobile autonomous launchers on Tatra vehicles and 2 mobile command posts. The Navy has already inducted the BrahMos and has fitted them on most frontline battleships. Efforts are now on to develop BrahMos variants that can be launched from submarines and aircraft.


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yahoooooooooo...its my hometown..hope those targets will not be on top of my house...

 

[angeldemon_007]

^^^
Why are they worried about Brahmos 2 being used by IA in NE ?? India has already developed a Brahmos blk 3 which is specifically designed for mountainous terrain. The blk 3 order has already being placed by IA. It is this missile that is gonna be fielded in NE. I didn't heard IA planning to field blk 2 in NE, if that was the case then these simulation would help but other than this we are covered.

Also considering the mountains in NE, especially in Sikkim....i doubt their can be full radar coverage even in future.

 

[The HBS Guy]

We need thousands of these missiles to pose any credible deterrent to any PLA offensive.

 

[GR!FF!N]

^^^
Why are they worried about Brahmos 2 being used by IA in NE ?? India has already developed a Brahmos blk 3 which is specifically designed for mountainous terrain. The blk 3 order has already being placed by IA. It is this missile that is gonna be fielded in NE. I didn't heard IA planning to field blk 2 in NE, if that was the case then these simulation would help but other than this we are covered.

Also considering the mountains in NE, especially in Sikkim....i doubt their can be full radar coverage even in future.

exactly..i thought Block 3 is already inducted and deployed in NE..by the way,which kind of target they are talking about???because,either banks of hooghly river is heavily populated.i doubt they will test a missile in a densely crowded area.

 

[Adnan Faruqi]

We need to place 2-3 more Brahmos regiments in NE.

 

[GR!FF!N]

We need to place 2-3 more Brahmos regiments in NE.

naaaahhhh...China won't worth it..wastage of money..

 

[AADHAAR]

In the absence of a radar, can't we use satellite for monitoring chinese movements across the mountains ... ?

Many remote sensing satellites have a resolution less than 1m .. and for military satellites, it will be even lower.

Also, atmost the Himalayas go up to 8 to 9 kms.. can't the missile go up and come down to hit the target.... why follow the Brahmaputra ??

 

[GR!FF!N]

In the absence of a radar, can't we use satellite for monitoring chinese movements across the mountains ... ?

Many remote sensing satellites have a resolution less than 1m .. and for military satellites, it will be even lower.

Also, atmost the Himalayas go up to 8 to 9 kms.. can't the missile go up and come down to hit the target.... why follow the Brahmaputra ??

because through brahmaputra,it is easier to hit China in sea-skimming mode.it reduces its detection range(because it is flying under horizon and radar clutter).

 

[AADHAAR]

Anyway, we should try to use Prahaar ... for just across the border, tactical strikes on chinese concentrations.
(It's much much cheaper .... Brahmos needs a target, which makes it worth to fire a 10-12 cr missile).

Prahaar is much more useful, when targets are closer .. and are a comparatively "cheaper" loss to the enemy.

Brahmos can go significantly farther ... 290 kms.... and should be used to blast their logistic supply lines -> Bridges or ammunition dumps or and base camps for their troops.. much deeper than the border areas.

In fact Nathu La to Lhasa is just about 290 km .. and Brahmos (or Prithvi missiles could be used)... although, we may not have good reason to target Lhasa, unless chinese troops are concentrated there.

Main targets on the east .. Chengdu and Kunming need about 750 to 1000 km missiles . in which case Brahmos fits only if fired from air by Su-30MKIs.

 

[rai_kamal]

Don't try to match them it's not possible, just try to attack their supply lines like Roads and railways..Thats it and stay inside our territory, if IA can do this then its more than enough. We are not known for attacking and we will not in future will do this kind of acitivities..

 

[AADHAAR]

Don't try to match them it's not possible, just try to attack their supply lines like Roads and railways..Thats it and stay inside our territory, if IA can do this then its more than enough. We are not known for attacking and we will not in future will do this kind of acitivities..

Off course.. time is their problem, not ours. With every passing year, their maintenance costs continue to shoot up for all their "roads" along the border.

Without trade with India, all roads on the other side of Aruanchal border have Zero returns ... and they continue to deteriorate, if they don't keep spending more and more money on them.

It's only good for us.. as they bleed away.

 

[trinity]

^^^
Why are they worried about Brahmos 2 being used by IA in NE ?? India has already developed a Brahmos blk 3 which is specifically designed for mountainous terrain. The blk 3 order has already being placed by IA. It is this missile that is gonna be fielded in NE. I didn't heard IA planning to field blk 2 in NE, if that was the case then these simulation would help but other than this we are covered.


Also considering the mountains in NE, especially in Sikkim....i doubt their can be full radar coverage even in future.

Couldnt radar be imposed by using some creative methods.....blimps, drones fitted with radar equipment, etc. Im surprised we havent dug tunnels yet, even though the Chinese have done so into various parts of the NE. The tunnels are closed and dont open out into India territory coz the Chinese do that on purpose...only when the situation arises, it will require very little effort to open. The tunnels go well past the border

 

[timetravel]

Couldnt radar be imposed by using some creative methods.....blimps, drones fitted with radar equipment, etc. Im surprised we havent dug tunnels yet, even though the Chinese have done so into various parts of the NE. The tunnels are closed and dont open out into India territory coz the Chinese do that on purpose...only when the situation arises, it will require very little effort to open. The tunnels go well past the border

the same goes for USA.. China has tunnels built for them also.. which open in middle of New York and other major cities !!

 

[GR!FF!N]

Couldnt radar be imposed by using some creative methods.....blimps, drones fitted with radar equipment, etc. Im surprised we havent dug tunnels yet, even though the Chinese have done so into various parts of the NE. The tunnels are closed and dont open out into India territory coz the Chinese do that on purpose...only when the situation arises, it will require very little effort to open. The tunnels go well past the border

then we have to do very little effort to kill a lot of Chinese without firing a single bullet..do you forgot what South Korea did with same kind of tunnels built by North Korea and USA did with Vietnam????just flood the tunnel...

 

[AADHAAR]

the same goes for USA.. China has tunnels built for them also.. which open in middle of New York and other major cities !!

Yeah.. if you look at posts from Martian2 .. he claims that China "very likely" has tunnels thru the center of the Earth opening in the industrial heartland of USA !!!!!!

He can even support his "claims" by photoshopped pictures...