• The Army carried out a successful test of the advanced BrahMos Block III Land Attack Cruise Missile (LACM) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Wednesday.
• This is the second consecutive test of the missile in two days.
• The test in an operational configuration was carried by the Army’s South Western Command-based 1 strike corps.
• Testing BrahMos in the Andaman and Nicobar islands is a symbolic statement, as it brings the strategic Malacca straits under its range.
• Precise capabilities of BrahMos missile for quick sea access and denial in the event of a conflict, and its testing in the Andaman Sea is a reflection of the changing dynamics in the Indian Ocean.
• “This is the fifth consecutive time when the Block-III version of BrahMos LACM has been successfully launched and hit the land-based target in “top-attack” mode, an incredible feat not achieved by any other weapon system of its genre.

About Brahmos:

• BrahMos is a product of joint collaboration between India and Russia and is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets.
• The range of the supersonic missile was initially capped at 290 km as per the obligations of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
• Since India’s entry into the club, the range has been extended to 450 km and the plan is to increase it to 600km.
• These tests were carried out in full operational land-to-land configurations from Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL) at full-range.

Source: The Hindu