Boosting its missile technology capabilities, India today successfully testfired the supersonic cruise land-to-land BrahMos missile in the Pokharan test ranges in Rajasthan. It becomes the only country outside the US and Russia to acquire the capability.The test firing of the missile with a range of 290 km was conducted at 12.30 pm in the presence of Chief of Army Staff (designate) Lt Gen J J Singh and other top officials of the armed forces.The testing of the missile in its land configuration comes after successful tests of the missile’s ship-to-ship and ship-to-land versions.A Pune-based firm has developed a mobile land-launcher platform to carry the BrahMos missile in its land configuration.Describing today’s test, a Defence ministry spokesman said: ‘‘The mission team chose one from among a group of identified built-up targets and the missile came dead on the target, destroying it.’’Last month, Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash said, ‘‘The BrahMos technology is mature. We are at the last stage of proving its capabilities. We will retrofit it on all Navy ships that can carry the missile.’’Earlier this month, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, who also visited the development site in Bangalore, announced that both India and Russia would be raising their investments in the project.
