India test-fires Brahmos missile with 450 km range

Ajay Banerjee​

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 11  

India on Saturday test-fired the BrahMos missile with an extended range of 400 km from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur in Balasore, Odisha.

Dr Sudhir Mishra, CEO and MD of BrahMos, said: “With the successful test-firing of extended range missile, BrahMos-ER, the Indian armed forces will be empowered to knock down enemy targets far beyond 400 kms.” The test was done from the Abdul Kalam island off Odisha coast around 11 am.

The missile range was extended from 290 km to 450 km following India's joining of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June 2016. The MTCR is an informal and voluntary partnership of countries to prevent proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying over 500 kg payload for more than 300 km.

It prohibits member countries from giving such technology to countries outside the club.

DRDO chairman Dr S Christopher congratulated the BrahMos team.