Indian Army's Southern Command conducts successful long-range precision launch of BrahMos missile

Key facts

• The Southern Command of the Indian Army successfully carried out a long range precision launch of the BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile from a test range in the Bay of Bengal.
• The launch was executed in a coordinated mission involving a BrahMos unit of the Southern Command and elements of the Tri-Services Andaman and Nicobar Command.
• BrahMos Aerospace, which has designed and developed the missile, is a joint venture between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM).
• BrahMos is an amalgamation of the names of Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers.
• The first successful test of the missile was conducted on June 12, 2001, from the specially designed land based launcher at the Integrated Test Range off the Chandipur coast of Odisha.
• BrahMos saw first induction into the Indian Navy in 2005, into the Indian Army in 2007 and first successful flight from Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter in 2017.
• The achievement is a testament to India’s commitment to self-reliance under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.