Brahmos Advanced Variant

An extended range sea-to-sea variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was test fired from the recently commissioned stealth guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam.

New features

• This version of the missile has been designed to launch either in a vertical or a horizontal mode from moving/stationary assets to target both land and sea targets.
• The missiles,fired at a speed of 8 Mach or nearly three times the speed of sound, significantly increase the capability of the ships in engaging long-range targets.

Brahmos

BrahMos is a joint collaboration between India and Russia(India’s Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Russia’s NPOM.) and is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets, with a range capped at 290 km initially.

The range of the missile was originally capped at 290 km as per obligations of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Following India’s entry into the club in 2016, the range would be extended to 450 km and to 600km at a later stage.

• Originally introduced in 2001, variations of these supersonic missiles can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, and land platforms.
• Brahmos is named after the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva.
• It is the first supersonic cruise missile to enter into the service.
• India and the Philippineshave inked an “Implementing Arrangement” for “procurement of defence material and equipment procurement.” This deal provides the framework for the widely anticipated government-to-government export of the BrahMos cruise missile.
• Aside from that, India is inadvanced negotiations with other nations, including Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia, and South Africa, to sell the BrahMos missile system.

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)

• Established in 1987, by G-7 countries – USA, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, and Japan
• Aim — to limit the spread of ballistic missiles and other unmanned delivery systems that could be used for chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons of above 500kg for more than 300km
• Membership : 35 members, India- Admitted in 2016, China is not a member
• It is not a legally-binding treaty.
• MTCR Guidelines — common export control policy adhered to by the MTCR Partners. The Guidelines define the purpose of the MTCR and provide the overall structure and rules to guide the member countries and those adhering unilaterally to the Guidelines.

MTCR Annex — Regime’s list of controlled items. The Annex is divided into two parts:

Category I items — include complete rocket and unmanned aerial vehicle systems (including ballistic missiles, space launch vehicles, sounding rockets, cruise missiles, target drones, and reconnaissance drones), capable of delivering a payload of at least 500 kg to a range of at least 300 km,

Category II items — include other less-sensitive and dual-use missile related components, as well as other complete missile systems capable of a range of at least 300 km, regardless of payload. Their export is subject to licensing requirements.