IAF Formally Inducts BrahMos-1 Block-3 Into Service

[Dash]

frankly I'm surprised that block III version landed in the hands of Indian airforce when it was Indian army which had originally tested its deep penetration capabilities in mountain ranges.And whatever happened to its UCAV variant.

Its usability was validated by Army, but doesn't mean that IAF wouldn't have got it. Im sure IA will get this version too. And Im not aware of any UCAV version of it.

 

[Parmanu]

Raha Sir smiles a lot.

 

[Levina]

And Im not aware of any UCAV version of it.

Well Brahmos should be able to deliver its payload and return to the base..in short it should be reusable. This was put forward by none other than Mr.APJ Abdul kalam.

 

[Sam Manekshaw]

Frankly I was embarrassed to be tagged with those gentlemen there...but I do know that the missile's Block-III version has trajectory maneuver and steep dive endgame to take out targets hidden behind mountain ranges.And will also be useful against naval targets that are more difficult to defend against vertical threats.
In short the Brahmos block III confers upon the IA's artillery arm the ability to block mountain passes thereby bottling up ingressing forces.
Also our govt has approved the deployment of BrahMos missiles in AP to counter China's huge build of military infrastructure.
I hope I didnt go wrong....if I did then ignore it as I'm pretty dilettante. lol

good info. anyway i asked you about it's role in IAF.

 

[Levina]

good info. anyway i asked you about it's role in IAF.

oh baby... i was also wondering why did it land in IAF's hand when IA was the one to originally test it??
But I am hoping @Dash gave the right info...incase you missed his post.

 

[Dash]

Well Brahmos should be able to deliver its payload and return to the base..in short it should be reusable. This was put forward by none other than Mr.APJ Abdul kalam.

A loitering Brahmos!, got that. That is not impossible to do but BRahmos being supersonic is the issue. A loitering weapon needs to be subsonic

 

[Sam Manekshaw]

oh baby... i was also wondering why did it land in IAF's hand when IA was the one to originally test it??
But I am hoping @Dash gave the right info...incase you missed his post.

Don't flirt with me

 

[SQ8]

Question is why? what is operational use of such missiles?
@Abingdonboy @Oscar

C3I strikes or disruption operations against airfields. One must remember that many PAF and IAF airfields are well within the range of cruise missile strikes to each other.

 

[Sam Manekshaw]

There will be. I mean might be.

still doesn't make sense...considering Brahmos range it seems to be useless.

C3I strikes or disruption operations against airfields. One must remember that many PAF and IAF airfields are well within the range of cruise missile strikes to each other.

which one?

 

[Levina]

Don't flirt with me

flirt with you???
dream on!!
those 're my pet words

 

[Sam Manekshaw]

As of now the bombers in IAF don't have the ability to carry a cruise missile for SEAD/DEAD operations. So as a measure Brahmos will be used for taking out air defence assets which are close to Indian border. This is IAF own inventory and they will use it for that.

When you get mini Brahmos, you can still use the surface to surface versions, provided IAF wants it. For other air forces in the world it may not make sense but in our case it does.

and like @levina said, this is a top attack mode missile, which optimized to remove clusters and strikes the target, it will clear the air defences set in deep forests for IAF to launch the raid later.

still it didn't justify the induction of Brahmos in IAF considering it's range.

 

[Levina]

still it didn't justify the induction of Brahmos in IAF considering it's range.

why do you forget that block III is not just capable of steep dives but is also capable of being launched from multiple platforms like submarines, ships, aircraft and land based Mobile Autonomous Launchers??

 

[Parmanu]

guys ! IAF IA and IN should have similar weapons if they can. the point is of being able to strike deep and fast. IAF need not use a drone or the much less attractive option of a trained pilot for a job a missile can do.

 

[SQ8]

which one?

taking the centre of the AB to the centre of the other AB

Pathankot to Sargodha.. 280km
Adampur to Sargodha 300 km
Halwara to Sargodha 310 km

Bhuj AFS to Masroor PAFB 320km
Naliya AFS to Masroor PAFB 270 km
Jamnagar AFS to Masroor 400km

Bhatinda AFS to Rafiqui PAFB 240km
SuratGarh AFS to Rafiqui 220km
Sirsa AFS to Rafiqui 290km


And these are all main airbases... not the forward bases.


Lets take aircraft speeds into account.. on average combat aircraft travel around 700 kmh.. that is their cruise speed on combat missions and not on afterburner or otherwise(which is not how actual missions occur) but for the sake of the point, this will suffice.

Aircraft will then take on average 25 minutes of flight time within each other.
If they go any faster(as they do).. you are looking at strikes coming in with as little as 15 minutes from take off to attack.

The Brahmos travels at an average of 3400 km/h.. that means from launch to impact it has 5 minutes to impact.. now why would the IAF not want that capability knowing what I just showed you.

 

[Didact]

C3I strikes or disruption operations against airfields. One must remember that many PAF and IAF airfields are well within the range of cruise missile strikes to each other.

It's almost definitely for C3I disruption and runway denial operations. A lot of people here are questioning the wisdom of IAF acquiring SSM Brahmos Block-III, without understanding the fact that in the absence of seamless inter-operability between the IAF and the IA, the IAF is the party better positioned for Stand-off strikes.

The IAF has a better organised,more exhaustive network of sensors and a better experienced team to enhance the probability of a successful strike. Beyond that, there is also the often disregarged question of battle damage assessment, an extra-ordinarily important task to ensure success. The IAF, again, by virtue of its training, and airborne assets are far better placed to conduct BDA.

As far as SEAD is concerned, I'll be honest I'm more than a bit skeptical of Brahmos's usage for such a complicated mission. It'd take too long to explain my apprehensions, which is why I'll skip it for now.