IAF successfully fires extended-range version of BrahMos missile

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully fired the extended-range version of the BrahMos air-launched missile against a ship target from a Su-30MKI fighter aircraft.

The supersonic cruise missile BrahMos has an extended range that allows it to hit targets up to 500 km away. The earlier target range was around 290 km.

"The IAF successfully fired the extended-range version of the BrahMos air-launched missile. Carrying out a precision strike against a ship target from a Su-30 MKI aircraft in the Bay of Bengal region, the missile achieved the desired mission objectives," said the IAF.

Currently, around 40 Su-30MKI fighter aircraft are equipped with BrahMos missiles, which are deployed both against China and Pakistan.

With this, the IAF has achieved a significant capability boost to carry out precision strikes from Su-30MKI aircraft against land and sea targets over very long ranges, said the Indian Air Force.

The extended-range capability of the missile, coupled with the high performance of the Su-30MKI aircraft, gives the IAF a strategic reach and allows it to dominate future battlefields, it added.

The Indian Army and the Indian Navy have also deployed BrahMos missiles on land and on ships.

Meanwhile on Thursday, the IAF fighter and transport aircrafts carried out practice flying, including circuit approach and overshoot on the newly constructed emergency landing facility on NH-16 at Bapatla district in Andhra Pradesh.