India on Monday successfully test-fired the 290 km-range BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile from the country's largest indigenous warship INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka.
The 290km range missile is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.
Vietnam, which is involved in a territorial dispute with China, is keen to get it hands on the supersonic missiles that can be fired on land, water and under water.
The test-firing of the missile from the Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast came amid India's lingering border row with China.
In a brief statement, the defence ministry said the "training launch" of the missile was carried out at around 7:30 pm.
It is the first warship to have been named after a city from the Northeastern region, the approval for which was accorded by the President in April 2019.
The Indian Air Force put its might on display at the full dress rehearsal on Tuesday, ahead of the 83rd Air Force Day on October 8, at the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad.
Government sources told ANI that the detailed probe by the Air Force officer (equivalent to Major General in the Army) is still going on but prima facie, a Group Captain-rank officer is being seen as blameworthy.
The proposal is also important as it comes at a time when the Indian forces are working on the creation of a rocket force which has been in discussion at the highest levels in the Defence Ministry.
The Southeast Asian nation has been focusing on modernising its military in the face of myriad security challenges as well as decades-long territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
The trigger that led Japan and the Philippines to ink the deal was because of the deteriorating security situation in the South China Sea. China's coast guard increased the frequency and intensity of incursions into Philippine waters, provoking the Philippines to take countermeasures to deter China, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
The IAF can fire Brahmos missiles from several hundred kilometres away. The BrahMos flies supersonic, at speeds up to Mach 2.5, giving the enemy little time to react
'Pakistan was very mature in the way it dealt with the incident.' 'India too owned up to the accident.' 'The whole incident was resolved quite amicably.' 'Both countries should be proud of how they have handled this situation.'
The Pinaka rockets have a range of around 37 km.
The defence ministry on Friday said a technical malfunction in the course of a routine maintenance led to the accidental firing of a missile on March 9.
'This cannot be credibly explained away by referring to a "technical glitch".'
The most remarkable feature of these warships is that, tonne-for-tonne, they are not only one of the world's most heavily armed but also one of the cheapest.
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Talking to reporters in Tiruchirapalli, Pillai said, "Now we are the leaders in supersonic missile system with the successful development of Brahmos Cruise Missiles."
The BrahMos systems for the two ships are estimated to cost Rs 25 billion, making it the world's most expensive anti-ship missile.
India on Friday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed sub-sonic long range cruise missile, 'Nirbhay' from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha.
The successful test-firing of the QRSAM, having a range of around 30 km, paves the way for its commercial production
Armed with the surface-to-surface BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, a medium range gun and anti-submarine rockets, guided missile frigate INS Teg will be commissioned into the Indian Navy on Friday at the Yantar shipyard in Russia.
The defence minister will also be on board the country's latest indigenous stealth frigate INS Shivalik and witness the live firing of lethal missiles including the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, Defence Ministry officials said in New Delhi on Monday.
The warships will be armed with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles which can reach targets 295 km away.
Buoyed by the remarkable success of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles, India and Russia are now mulling the joint development of a futuristic 'smart' battle tank, featuring higher speed and better firepower. "We put forward this idea (of developing the tank) at the turn of the 21st century. The Indian side has now come up with a similar proposal," Nikolai Malykh, director general of Russia's biggest tank producer Uralvagonzavod, said.
As remarkable as DRDO's contribution in containing and treating COVID-19 has been, its success over the last 15 months has been in its primary role of developing conventional defence equipment and technologies.
The missile will be capable of shooting down enemy ballistic missiles, aircraft, helicopters, drones, surveillance aircraft and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems) aircraft from a range of around 70 km.
'So far, Pakistan leads India in subsonic cruise missile development, having tested and operationally deployed the Babur cruise missile that has a range of 700 km, significantly less than the Nirbhay's.'
China has been commissioning three new destroyers every year while India has barely completed one destroyer every 2-3 years.
India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable sub-sonic cruise missile 'Nirbhay', which can strike targets more than 700 kms away, from a test range at Chandipur near Balasore in Odisha on Friday.
Built at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd in Mumbai, the ship's construction also marks the end of the Project 15A to build Kolkata-class guided missile destroyers.
The country's first woman defence minister sat in the rear seat behind the pilot and was wearing the pilot's G-suit.
The government has cleared the lone bid of Airbus-TATA consortium for replacing Indian Air Force's fleet of ageing Avro transport aircraft for Rs 11,930 crore besides approving Russia's offer to build Kamov Ka-226T helicopters under 'Make in India' initiative.
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An IAF microlite aircraft with two persons on board made an emergency precautionary landing on Sunday in a park near a metro station in east Delhi after the pilot suspected a problem in the plane.
Defence Research and Development Organisation plans to make the country "missile import free" by 2022, the agency has told the Prime Minister's Office.
India has the ability in all respects to be a great power and address our security challenges in the best national interests, says Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
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