New Delhi, December 17

Work has begun to integrate the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft, which is expected to fulfil critical needs of the Indian Air Force in the wake of evolving security dynamics in the region.The air-launched variant of the BrahMos, the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile, was successfully test-fired from a Sukhoi-30 combat jet on November 22, marking a major milestone to enhance the precision-strike capability of the Air Force.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The work to integrate the BrahMos missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft has begun. A timeline for the project is being set, official sources said without elaborating.  It is learnt that the project is expected to be completed by 2020. The fleet of 40 Sukhoi jet will undergo structural modifications at the state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for integration of the missile on them. The 2.5-tonne missile flies almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8 and has a range of 290 km. The range of the missile, an Indo-Russia joint venture, can be extended up to 400 km as certain technical restrictions were lifted after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) last year.“It is a very important project considering IAF’s evolving requirement to boost air power when the possibility of a two-front war cannot be ruled out,” said an official.After the test firing of the air-launched version, the IAF had said the missile coupled with the superlative performance of the Su-30 aircraft will give the force a strategic reach and will allow it to dominate the ocean and the battlefields. The integration of the missile on Sukhoi aircraft is a very complex process involving mechanical, electrical and software modifications of the Su-30 jet. BrahMos is a joint venture between DRDO of India and NPO Mashinostroyenia of Russia. — PTIHeaviest weapon on Sukhoi-30

• BrahMos will be the heaviest weapon to be fitted on India’s Su-30 fighter aircraft
• The fleet will undergo structural modifications at state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd
• With this, IAF capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target on sea or land will rise manifold
• BrahMos is named after two rivers: Brahmaputra and Moskva (flowing in western Russia)

290 km the missile’s range — extendable up to 400 km as certain technical restrictions were lifted after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime in 20162.5 tonne the missile’s weight, which flies almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.82020 year by which the missile- Sukhoi integration project is expected to be completed