Report by Priyabrata Nayak; Bhubaneswar: India today successfully test fired supersonic cruise missile brahmos, as part of a user trial by the army from integrated test range (ITR) at chandipur off odisha coast of balasore district about 250 kilometer from here.

This missile has a flight range of up to 290 km and is capable of carrying conventional warhead of 300 kg. Brahmos a two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant, has been inducted into the army and navy earlier, and it’s air-force version is in final stage of trial, a defence official said. “Today this cruise missile was test fired from a mobile launcher from the launch complex-3 at about 10.30 am and all data is being retrieved for analysis.

This test was successful one” ITR director M V K V Prasad said. Sources in the defence said, the army has so far placed orders for the brahmos missile and this will be deployed by three regiments of the army and two of them have already been inducted operationally. The first version of brahmos missile was included in the Indian navy in 2005 with ins rajput and it is now fully operational with two regiments of the army. Brahmos is an joint venture of Indo-Russian collaboration. Indian defence scientists now working to develop the air as well as the submarine launch version of the missile system. On march 28, this year the last trial was conducted from the same base and it was successful.