Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
March 19, 2010
IWG Report 2009
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
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BrahMos SSC-5
| Country: | Russian Federation |
|---|---|
| Alternate Name: | PJ-10, 3M55 Oniks/Yakhont |
| Class: | S/Su/L/ALCM |
| Target: | Land, Ship |
| Length: | 9.00 m |
| Diameter: | 0.67 m |
| Launch Weight: | 3900.00 kg |
| Payload: | 200 kg HE |
| Propulsion: | Ramjet w/ solid booster |
| Range: | 300.00 km |
| Guidance: | INS, GPS, active and passive radar |
| Status: | Development |
| Associated Country: | India |
Details
The BrahMos SSC-5/PJ-10 is a short-range, ramjet powered, single warhead, supersonic anti-ship cruise missile developed and manufactured by India and Russia. Ship-, air-, ground-, and submarine-launched versions exist. It is currently among the most formidable cruise missiles in development.
The BrahMos, which derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moscow rivers in India and Russia, is based on the earlier Russian design for the SS-N-26 (3M55 Oniks) cruise missile. In 1998, a joint venture was set up between the Indian Defense Ministry’s Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia’s Mashinostroyeniye Company. The two entities formed a company now known as Brahmos Aerospace, which would develop and manufacture the BrahMos PJ-10. Sources indicate that by 2006 India and Russia had already invested $300 million in the company.
As an anti-ship missile, the SSC-5 is distinguished by its reported supersonic speed of Mach 2.8, approximately one kilometer per second. In addition to making it difficult to intercept, this speed also imparts a greater strike power. In comparison, the U.S. RGM/UGM-109 “Tomahawk” cruise missile, which has been used successfully in both Iraq and Afghanistan, operates at a subsonic speed of less than Mach 1.0. Most other anti-ship missiles fly at subsonic speeds as well.
In addition, the BrahMos is equipped with stealth technology designed to make it less visible to radar and other detection methods. The missile also has a high level of accuracy, which has been established by recent test flights as close to zero circular error probability (CEP). The missile operates on the “fire and forget” principle, meaning that once it has been launched, it will correctly strike its target without requiring any assistance. It has an inertial navigation system (INS) for use against ship targets, and an INS/Global Positioning System for use against land targets. Terminal guidance is achieved through an active/passive radar.
The BrahMos is designed to attack surface targets at altitudes as low as 10 m. The ship-, ground-, and air-launched versions have a range of 300 km, while the air-launched version has a range of 500 km. The missile is powered by a solid propellant boost motor with a ramjet sustainer motor. It is 9.0 m in length, has a body diameter of 0.67 m, and has a launch weight of 3,900 kg. It has four clipped tip delta wings at mid-body, with four small delta control fins at the rear. The BrahMos carries a 200 kg payload, either high explosive semi-armor piercing or submunitions.
The first flight test of the BrahMos SSC-5 took place in June 2001. Initial production was scheduled to begin in 2004. In September 2006, BrahMos Aerospace CEO A. Sivathanu Pillai stated that production was complete, and that the missile was being integrated with the Su-30MKI fighter.
Sources indicate that Russia and India plan to export the BrahMos to a host of Third World countries, possibly to offset U.S. military capabilities. In 2006, reports indicated that Russia and India plan to manufacture 1,000 BrahMos missiles over the next 10 years through their joint venture company. Of these 1,000 missiles, nearly 50 percent will be exported to client states.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 45 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, July 2006), pp. 58-59; BrahMos Official Website, available at http://www.brahmos.com, accessed on November 8, 2006; GlobalSecurity.org, “PJ-10 BrahMos,” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/india/brahmos.htm, accessed on August 1, 2006; Rahul Bedi, “India and Russia strengthen defence ties,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, December 14, 2005; “India, Russia talk Brahmos,” Jane’s Navy International, January 1, 2006; “India and Russia commit funds to air-launched BrahMos,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, February 1, 2006; Bill Sweetman, “BrahMos set for air launch,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, March 8, 2006; PTI News Agency, July 22, 2006; Rahul Bedi, “BrahMos set for Su-30MKI fit,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, September 6, 2006.
India Tests Cruise Missile
India successfully tested a BrahMos cruise missile from a test range in Rajasthan on Thursday, July 29. The test target was successfully hit at 25 km. The missile tested has a range of 300km, a conventional warhead payload of 300kg, and an airspeed up to Mach 2.8.
The purpose of the launch was to test the seeker software.
» Cruise missile details: BrahMos PJ-10, BrahMos SSC-5
India Launches Brahmos
India test-fired a supersonic cruise missile Wednesday, launching it from an Indian destroyer near the eastern coast of Orissa. The Brahmos cruise missile, which has been developed jointly by India and Russia, is said to have a range of 290 kilometers with a conventional warhead—weighing, according to various reports, 200 or 300kg—and was designed to be launched from ships, submarines or planes. Today’s test reportedly took place from a destroyer, the INS Rajput, from the Bay of Bengal.
» More stories on: Cruise Missiles, India, Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Cruise missile details: BrahMos PJ-10, BrahMos SSC-5
