The Indian Air Forces (IAF) conducted twin back to back tests of the Surface-to-Surface variant of the Brahmos LACM missile in October 2019.
Brahmos is a tactical missile developed by an Indo-Russian joint venture - Brahmos Aerospace - using the Russian Oniks 3M55 ASCM as the starting point. The JV has developed ASCM, LACM variants of the Brahmos that can be launched from ships, submarines, terrestrial mobile launchers and Su-30MKI fighters.
A Brahmos official stated on October 22, 2019:
An IAF missile squadron launched the missiles in operational configuration to assess mission readiness and swift deployment of the Brahmos over long distances. The missiles hit targets in Trak Island, approximately 200-km due South of Car Nicobar island in the Andaman Nicobar group of islands.
In the first test conducted at around 1400 hrs on October 21, 2019, the missile in practice configuration flawlessly followed the desired flight trajectory and flew to nearly its full range of 300-km before successfully hitting the preset target with "Bull's Eyes Accuracy."
The second test was successfully carried out at 0930 hrs on October 22, 2019, during which a Brahmos in combat mode once again struck at the designated land target with perfect precision.
The first BrahMos equipped IAF missile squadron became operational in 2014. It's likely that the IAF air deployed a mobile Brahmos launcher from the squadron to the IAF base on Car Nicobar island or the Andaman & Nicobar Island Group. Since Trak island, where the targets were located, is approximately 200-km South from Car Nicobar full range testing would have involved some evasive routing by the missile.
The reference to practice and operational configuration most likely alludes to kinetic kill without warhead and kinetic kill with warhead.
The Brahmos official stated that the first missile hit a 'preset' target and the second missile hit a 'designated' target. It's possible that the official was referring to a subtle difference in targeting method. Target coordinates maybe determined either by onsite observations (preset target?) or they could be extrapolated from satellite or airborne optical / SAR imagery (designated?) target.
Till the imperative to strike the Balakot terror nursery in Pakistan arose in February 2019, the Brahmos LACM's pinpoint strike capability had been established only against preset targets. Indian Army Eastern Command's tests of the Brahmos LACM in May 2019 and the IAF tests in October 2019 were likely aimed at generating confidence among the services that the Brahmos could be used takeout, without collateral damage, targets using coordinates obtained through optical / SAR reconnaissance.
Brahmos Airspace is currently working on developing a smaller New Generation (NG) variant of the Brahmos that could arm smaller MiG-29 class fighters and be launched from submarine torpedo tubes.
Source: Vijainder K Thakur
