Posted on 07/12/2006 3:32:10 AM PDT by spetznaz
July 11, 2006: The Indian army has activated it's first BrahMos cruise missile battalion. The PJ-10 BrahMos missiles are carried, three to a truck, on a vehicle which also acts as a launcher. The 3.2 ton missile has a range of 300 kilometers and has a 660 pound warhead. Perhaps the most striking characteristic of the BrahMos is its high speed, literally faster (at up to 3,000 feet per second) than a rifle bullet.
India and Russia developed the weapon together, and also offer the BrahMos for export. The high price of each missile, about $2.3 million, restricts the number of countries that can afford it. India's BrahMos battalion has four launcher vehicles, plus support vehicles and sixty missiles. Do the math (that's over $150 million for one battalion.) Five older destroyers have been retrofitted with at least four BrahMos each, and new ships will have the missile as well. The weapon was a joint development project that entered service with the Indian navy in 2005.
Different versions of the PJ-10 can be fired from the air, from ships or submarines. The maximum speed of 3,000 kilometers an hour makes it harder to intercept, and means it takes five minutes or less to reach its target. The air launched version weighs 2.5 tons, the others, three tons or more. The 29 foot long, 670mm diameter missile is an upgraded version of the Russian SS-NX-26 (Yakhont) missile, which was in development when the Cold War ended in 1991. Lacking money to finish development and begin production, the Russian manufacturer made a deal with India to finish the job. India put up most of the $240 million needed to finally complete two decades of development.
The PJ-10 is being built in Russia, with India as the initial customer. China and Iran have also expressed interest in the weapon. The SS-NX-26 (Yakhont)/BrahMos) was originally developed as an aircraft carrier killer. That's why it has the high speed and elaborate guidance system. And that's why it's so expensive. A similar American weapon, the ATACMS rocket, also has a range of 300 kilometers, uses GPS guidance, and has a 500 pound warhead. ATACMS costs a million dollars each, but is not as fast and lacks an elaborate terminal guidance system. The land version of BrahMos would be an effective coast defense weapon. For example, if the Iranians got several dozen land launched BrahMos missiles, they could pose a real threat to any ships using the Straits of Hormuz. In other words, the BrahMos missile could close those straits, through which most of the worlds oil supplies pass. Russia would benefit from that, because the price of their oil exports would climb. India would not like it, as they import oil from the Persian Gulf. India and Russia are both supposed to have a veto over who can buy BrahMos. So while Russia might like to sell Iran BrahMos, India would probably object.
At the moment, the most likely targets for BrahMos are Pakistani. Against ships, you can justify a $2.3 million missile, but there are few land targets, within range of the BrahMos, that are worth the cost. Moreover, India has cheaper ballistic missiles for that sort of thing, as well as bomb and missile carrying jets. BrahMos was designed to hit a moving target, and do so at high speed, to make defensive measures less effective. To that end, India is developing the air launched version, which will be carried by its Su-30 fighters. There might also eventually be a cheaper land based version, using a less expensive guidance system (like GPS) for stationary land targets. India and Russia plan to manufacture about a thousand BrahMos over the next ten years, including those needed for export.
Not that the Indians need it to take care of the Pakistanis, but every little bit helps. China (and the 'People's navy') would be a far better target, and I doubt the new Aegis-esque ships the Chinese are trying to put out could handle it ....but then all that would be a moot point if China ends up getting these missiles as well, which they very well may. Silver Bullets are not as effective when your enemy has a bandolier of them too.
Pingpong
You can pack a nuke in a 155mm artillery shell if you want.
So would that make this an even bigger threat should Kim or Iran get a hold of a few of these?
Ah yes, the highly accurate Strategypage!!These fellows are pretty decent when it comes to American weapons-but they kiss accuracy & common sense good bye,when it comes to foreign weapons.The newest Tomahawk costs round about 1 million & it's range,payload & guidance mechanisms are all ahead of the Brahmos..In other words the 2.3 million figure is close to bullcrap.A lot of infrastructure needs to be built into place for raising a batallion-not just trucks & missiles!!
About selling to China & Iran ...Well the fellow who wrote this can keep dreaming.As long as China keeps occupying Indian territory,arming Pakistan & aiming nukes at India...it aint going to happen.Moreover,Roosborexport(sic?) which hawks Russian weaponry still offers the SSN-26 Yakhont.China could have got it for their newer Kilos & Sovremmenys,but could only manage the SSN-22s..Just a coincidence??The only countries who have expressed interest in the Brahmos are ones like Chile,Malaysia,South Africa,the UAE etc.
Folks,the Brahmos would be difficult to export in the first place because it is a bi-national weapon.India is not exactly cozy with N.Korea & it's relations are going downhill with Iran.
Kimmy-boy getting this missile is not on the menu, and the main threat from him is his insanity (plus the fact he has around 10,000 artilelry pieces aimed at Seoul, South Korea which would be nigh impossible to neutralize with conventional means before he razed Seoul to the ground). Apart from the artillery pieces Kim is just some crazed nut who apparently has a ball yanking everyones chain with his dong-this and dong-that, and we should be able to bring down his Taepo-dong missile before it can hit the US - if it even flies for more than 40 seconds in the first place - but those artillery pieces are a real threat for the South Koreans. (Anyways, someone needs to teach him a lesson before he does something really stupid).
Iran on the other hand can be a threat as described in the article (straits of Hormuz), but not through the use of this missile. For one they probably will nto get it, secondly if they got it they would not have the ability tech-wise to have nuclear warheads small enough to fit inside, and to affect shipping nuclear warheads are not necessary (and their use may even invoke a response that is not exactly beneficial to the health of various Iranian headhonchos).
The Israeli LORA- now this is comparable to the ATACMS & is also being offered to India.
Last year,Iran was negotiating to upgrade it's 3 Kilo class boats with Russia.the programme would include the purchase of the Russian Klub missile.The Klub is a family of Russian cruise missiles(land attack & anti-ship variants) & is capable of launch via 533mm torpedo tubes.The Brahmos cannot do that.
Taiwan would be high on the list of nations that desire to purchase large numbers of ship-killers...especially ship-killers that can be mounted onto trucks and fired from land.
The *export* market seems to have a hole in it for an available anti-sub weapon, though. Wonder why?!
just another message board cookie monster trying to prove something. aren't u?
India has got the fastest cruise missile and in couple of years it could take on china, US and other european countries. Pakistan is always been a nuisance, so they can easily be wiped out of the world map even tomorrow.
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