English: Cruise missile BrahMos on display at IMDS-2007
The Indian military used the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, which was developed in cooperation with Russia, in its May 4 strikes on Pakistan.
The strikes, codenamed “Operation Sindoor,” were a response to the April 22 terrorist attack on the resort town of Pahalgam, which India held militant groups based in Pakistan responsible for. The strikes targeted nine sites in both Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. At least 26 civilians were killed in the Indian strikes, according to the Pakistani military.
Indian police and medics said that some 11 others were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir by Pakistani retaliatory strikes. The Pakistani military also claimed that it shot down five fighter jets and a combat drone of the Indian Air Force while repelling the attack.
Initial reports said that the strikes were carried out using French-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles and AASM Hammer glide bombs. However, it was revealed later that BrahMos missiles were also used.
Photos taken at the northern Indian state of Rajasthan after the strike showed the CK130 booster associated with the supersonic cruise missile.
Click to see full-size image. Via Telegram.
Click to see full-size image. Via Telegram.
BrahMos was jointly developed by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya on the basis of the P-800 Oniks.
Just like the Russian-made Oniks, the BrahMos can reach a speed of up to Mach 3 with the range of its latest version reaching over 800 kilometers. Upon approaching its target, the missile is capable of flying as low as 3-10 meters to avoid detection.
The BrahMos relies on a complex guidance system building around a satellite-aided inertial navigation system and an active radar homing seeker. While it was mainly designed to engage water-born targets, it can strike ground-based targets as effectively.
It is unclear if the Indian military deployed the missile from its ground-based Mobile Autonomous Launchers, also known as “MAL,” or Su-30MKI fighter jets.
It’s worth noting that the BrahMos can also be launched from naval vessels. In fact, the Indian Navy test fired the missile at the start of the crisis with Pakistan.
Despite sustaining losses, the Indian military managed to hit at least six of the targeted sites, as acknowledged by the Pakistani military. Now, any response by Islamabad could force New Delhi to strike back again. Thus, the possibility of an all-out war between the two nuclear powers remains at its highest in over two decades.
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