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India, Russia Plan Extended-Range Brahmos Missile: Source

India and Russia plan to collaborate on improving the strike range of the Brahmos missile. The upgraded Brahmos will have a range of 800 kilometers (497 miles) compared to the present 280 kilometers (155 miles), TASS reported citing a source.

The improved version of the Indo-Russian supersonic missile will also have “a lot of new items,” the source told the Russian state-backed news agency without revealing further details.

Failed Test

The revelation comes on the heels of a failed missile test India conducted last week where a Brahmos, with a projected range of 450 kilometers (280 miles), fell off shortly after being launched.

The Brahmos is developed and produced by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s Mashinostroyenia.

World’s Fastest Cruise Missile

At Mach 2.8, the Brahmos is the world’s fastest cruise missile. Its land and ship-based versions carry a payload of up to 200 kilograms (441 pounds), while the air version can carry a warhead of up to 300 kilograms (661 pounds). It can engage targets at an altitude as low as 10 meters (33 feet).

The land and sea-based versions of the missile were activated by the Indian Army in 2005 and 2007, respectively. Its air version, meanwhile, was successfully test-fired in October last year. 

India has begun integrating the Brahmos on 40 of its Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters.

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