Indian Navy's Visakhapatnam-Class Destroyer 'INS Imphal' Fires BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile In Its Maiden Sea Trials

Indian Navy's latest Visakhapatnam-class destroyer, INS Imphal, fired a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile today (22 November) during her maiden sea trials.

The Western Naval Command (WNC) of the Navy shared a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) about the BrahMos missile firing.

The BrahMos missile successfully hit its target scoring a 'Bulls eye,' said the WNC. The post said, "Imphal (Yard 12706), Indian Navy’s latest indigenous guided missile destroyer, scored ‘Bulls Eye’ in her maiden #Brahmos firing at sea."

"First ever test-firing of Extended Range Brahmos missile before a ship’s commissioning underscores Indian Navy’s unwavering focus on Combat Readiness, AtmanirbharBharat’s growing shipbuilding prowess and assured reliability of indigenous weapons and platforms," the post further stated.

INS Imphal, the third destroyer of the Visakhapatnam class, is undergoing weapons firing trials, ahead of its expected commissioning in the navy in late 2023 or early 2024.

The BrahMos missile, first tested in June 2001, was jointly developed by the Russian NPO Mashinostroyeniya and the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

The baseline version of the missile can strike targets at a maximum range of 290 kilometres, with a speed of 2.9 Mach or 2.9 times the speed of sound.

Since then, the missile has undergone iterative developments, enabling it to strike targets at ranges of more than 500 kilometres.