Extended-range BrahMos launched from Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft

The India-Russian joint venture, BrahMos Aerospace, successfully fired the extended-range version of BrahMos Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) from a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft on Thursday, striking a target at a range of 400 km from the aircraft.

The ALCM launch went off as planned and the missile achieved a direct hit on its designated target in the Bay of Bengal region. 

This was the first launch of the extended-range ALCM from the Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft.

This launch has proved that the IAF has the capability to carry out precision strikes from its Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft against surface targets on land or sea, over very long ranges.

“The extended-range capability of the missile, coupled with the high performance of the Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft, gives the IAF (Indian Air Force) a strategic reach and allows it to dominate the future battlefield,” stated a defence ministry release.

A Sukhoi-30MKI squadron is based in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, from where it can undertake missions over the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal or the northern Indian Ocean. Its fighters are armed with the BrahMos ALCM and there are provisions for mid-air refuelling to enable these aircraft to undertake long missions at extended ranges.