BrahMos From On High

[sonicboom]

BrahMos From On High

April 6, 2010: India has agreed to buy two more BrahMos missile regiments for the army, and to supply the BrahMos for the air force as well. The new regiments will have a more advanced block II missiles, which are more accurate and reliable at hitting pinpoint targets (like headquarters or technical installations) in crowded urban environments. The air launched version weighs 2.5 tons, the army and navy ones weigh three tons or more. The air force wants an even smaller, and lighter version of BrahMos, and the government has agreed to fund that work as well.

India and Russia developed the weapon together, and now offer the BrahMos for export. The high price of each missile, about $2-3 million (depending on the version), restricts the number of countries that can afford it. The weapon entered service with the Indian navy in 2005.

Two years ago, India ordered 800 more of the new PJ-10 BrahMos missiles. Russia has not yet ordered any BrahMos, while India is also working on lighter versions for use by aircraft and submarines. The 3.2 ton BrahMos has a range of 300 kilometers and a 660 pound warhead. Perhaps the most striking characteristic is its high speed, literally faster (at up to 3,000 feet per second) than a rifle bullet. 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. Guidance is GPS or inertial to reach the general area of the target (usually a ship or other small target), then radar that will identify the specific target and hit it. The warhead weighs 660 pounds, and the high speed at impact causes additional damage (because of the weight of the entire missile.)

The 9.4 meter (29 foot) long, 670mm diameter missile is an upgraded version of the Russian SS-NX-26 (Yakhont) missile, which was still in development when the Cold War ended in 1991. Lacking money to finish development and begin production, the Russian manufacturer eventually 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 and India, with the Russians assisting India in setting up manufacturing facilities for cruise missile components. Efforts are being made to export up to 2,000, but no one has placed an order yet. Russia and India are encouraged enough to invest in BrahMos 2, which will use a scramjet, instead of a ramjet, in the second stage. This would double speed, and make the missile much more difficult to defend against.

India plans to make the missile a major weapon system. The BrahMos can carry a nuclear warhead, but is designed mainly to go after high value targets that require a large warhead and great accuracy. The BrahMos could take out enemy headquarters, or key weapons systems (especially those employing electronic or nuclear weapons.)

Air Weapons: BrahMos From On High

 

[Mauryan]

Brahmos-I is more of a russian ramjet with indian avionics.I might say that Brahmos-I just provided an oppertunity to pool resources from both sides.even though India has the ramjet design and production capabilities ,it relied on a proven russian yakont engine to get the work done with low budget.

But Brahmos-II OTOH will be a different ball game.With DRDO and ISRO working on individual designs for more than a decade,both organisations achieved significant results in ground testings.

The maximum burn out achieved was 60 sec for a Mach 8. With Russian colaboration,I bet they will achieve much better than that given the russian knowledge in metalurgy. And this time India carries a demanding stake in JV by putting both engine and avionics capabilities.

 

[jha]

Brahmos-I is more of a russian ramjet with indian avionics.I might say that Brahmos-I just provided an oppertunity to pool resources from both sides.even though India has the ramjet design and production capabilities ,it relied on a proven russian yakont engine to get the work done with low budget.

But Brahmos-II OTOH will be a different ball game.With DRDO and ISRO working on individual designs for more than a decade,both organisations achieved significant results in ground testings.

The maximum burn out achieved was 60 sec for a Mach 8. With Russian colaboration,I bet they will achieve much better than that given the russian knowledge in metalurgy. And this time India carries a demanding stake in JV by putting both engine and avionics capabilities.

Mach 8...?

is that correct..?

 

[dbc]

Personally, I think the BrahMos is overrated.
Please, I don't mean to flame, I will elaborate later unless someone else beats me to it.

 

[jha]

^^^^ its hype of the system which deters other from trying an adventure....who has experienced the superiority of F-22...???

IF such hypes or, OVERRATING can do the job and keep the bad guys in check , i am fully satisfied...

feel free to disagree...

 

[dbc]

^^^^ its hype of the system which deters other from trying an adventure....who has experienced the superiority of F-22...???

IF such hypes or, OVERRATING can do the job and keep the bad guys in check , i am fully satisfied...

feel free to disagree...

jha-venile I mean juvenile retort, I dis your BrahMos you challenge the F22 I don't care if you hate on the F22 till the cows come home, why should I - I didn't design it

It's late, like I said before I will explain myself later.

 

[jagjitnatt]

jha-venile I mean juvenile retort, I dis your BrahMos you challenge the F22 I don't care if you hate on the F22 till the cows come home, why should I - I didn't design it

It's late, like I said before I will explain myself later.

Brahmos to me is not over rated. It is a great weapon not because its Indian but because its really fast.

If a radar detects the brahmos at 150 km range, it would have just 3 minutes to intercept it. Actually even less than that because at the 180th second the missile would have already done the damage.

In any case it is a tough job and to stop a missile that is faster than even interceptor missiles, there is hardly any chance of stopping it. Add to that Brahmos is maneuverable too.

Brahmos might not be a threat to US, but it was never meant to be so. But it is more than enough for Pakistan or China.

 

[jha]

jha-venile I mean juvenile retort, I dis your BrahMos you challenge the F22 I don't care if you hate on the F22 till the cows come home, why should I - I didn't design it

It's late, like I said before I will explain myself later.

when did i challenge F-22...???

i was just saying that if a hype can keep bad guy in check, so be it...

And BTW i dont believe in pi$$ing contest...

 

[jha]

Brahmos to me is not over rated. It is a great weapon not because its Indian but because its really fast.

If a radar detects the brahmos at 150 km range, it would have just 3 minutes to intercept it. Actually even less than that because at the 180th second the missile would have already done the damage.

In any case it is a tough job and to stop a missile that is faster than even interceptor missiles, there is hardly any chance of stopping it. Add to that Brahmos is maneuverable too.

Brahmos might not be a threat to US, but it was never meant to be so. But it is more than enough for Pakistan or China.

well anything RUSSIAN seems to be over rated these days...

 

[Frankenstein]

jha-venile I mean juvenile retort, I dis your BrahMos you challenge the F22 I don't care if you hate on the F22 till the cows come home, why should I - I didn't design it

It's late, like I said before I will explain myself later.

 

[mohit]

Mach 8...?

is that correct..?

I think he meant 2.8

A hypersonic version of the missile is also presently under development (Lab Tested with 5.26 Mach Speed)

 

[Mauryan]

Personally, I think the BrahMos is overrated.
Please, I don't mean to flame, I will elaborate later unless someone else beats me to it.

This is one sort of clever flaming like thouch me not

Mach 8...?

is that correct..?

you read it correct.DRDO has developed different types of combustors for different Mach ratings.

The intial Mach 6+ for 20 sec was only came into media.while the rest was not.

 

[dbc]

Brahmos to me is not over rated. It is a great weapon not because its Indian but because its really fast.

Yes at mach 2.8 the Brahmos is really fast, at nearly 3 times the speed of sound the estimated skin temperature of the missile is approximately 323 K or 49.85 deg C at 37,000 ft. Of course, the skin temperature is dependent on altitude, atmospheric conditions, speed and aerodynamic efficiency. But consider the missile is terminal in a lo trajectory (sea skimming) the skin temperature will be appreciably higher as the missile passes through dense air, add to this the heat absorbed from the hot engine exhaust and the surrounding environment. It does not take a genius to figure that at nearly three times the speed of sound skin IR emissions contribute significantly to the IR signature of the missile in the MWIR(Mid-wavelength infrared) band. In this phase the Brahmos is a magnet for every heat seeking missile in your enemy’s arsenal this includes manpad and stingers. Modern heat seeking missiles are capable of "full-aspect engagements" the seeker is sensitive enough to acquire the target from any position and not just the hot exhaust.

There are several layers of a fleet defense that the missile must penetrate; the last layer is CIWS(close-in weapons) systems like Phalanx or the newer MetalStorm both come equipped with FLIR (Forward looking infrared) sensors. A single MetalStorm device is able to fire a million rounds a minute equipped with FLIR sensors the Brahmos does not stand a chance. I haven’t even mentioned first line of defense like LRCR (Long-Range Chaff Rocket) systems that will seduce the Brahmos by creating a ship sized decoy 14 km from the intended target.

If a radar detects the brahmos at 150 km range, it would have just 3 minutes to intercept it.

Assuming CAP with AWACS support a Brahmos launch will be detected and countered much sooner I expect at 300km during its hi trajectory phase a capable AWACS system can seduce the missile with false data as soon as the seeker is activated. Newer jets like the EuroFighter, J-10B or MKI have electro-optic sensors specifically IRTS systems that can track and use a combination of sensors to cue missiles for a successful intercept of a supersonic sea skimming missile.

Saturation attack is the only way the Brahmos can elude all layers of a fleet defense. But at 3M$ a pop how lucky do you feel?

 

[notorious_eagle]

Superb Analysis DOB, never thought of it this way.

 

[Mauryan]

Yes at mach 2.8 the Brahmos is really fast, at nearly 3 times the speed of sound the estimated skin temperature of the missile is approximately 323 K or 49.85 deg C at 37,000 ft.

So is the reason why the skin of Brahmos was built with special titanium composites to keep the temperatures down while distributing the whole skin temp .

But consider the missile is terminal in a lo trajectory (sea skimming) the skin temperature will be appreciably higher as the missile passes through dense air, add to this the heat absorbed from the hot engine exhaust and the surrounding environment

.
Do you have a figure in mind ,like what could be the maximum temperature that a brahmos skin gets through during its terminal Lo-lo flight profile?
If yes, then I will provide you the much exact figure of the skin temp.If you are talking about its exhaust fumes.....yes,but again its not an aircraft thats travelling at mach 1.8 or 2,but its a missile with sleek aerodynamic body at 2.8 mach.

It does not take a genius to figure that at nearly three times the speed of sound skin IR emissions contribute significantly to the IR signature of the missile in the MWIR(Mid-wavelength infrared) band.

accepted that you are a genius.

In this phase the Brahmos is a magnet for every heat seeking missile in your enemy’s arsenal this includes manpad and stingers.

Did you try forwarding this BRILLIANT IDEA to american forces?
Manpads and stingers targetting brahmos?
Dude.....I seriously had enough of this laugh.My stomach hurts

Modern heat seeking missiles are capable of "full-aspect engagements" the seeker is sensitive enough to acquire the target from any position and not just the hot exhaust.

Maybe I donno which heat seeking missiles you are talking about.Can you please educate me about their detection and targetting systems against a supersonic CM?

Brahmos travels almost 3 times the speed of sound that ~ 1km/sec.The best QR(quick reaction)SAM has a reaction time of 5 sec. that is to initiate a launch after circling a target.And you know the typical detection ranges of these QRSAMs? less than 50km.Their missiles have a range of a max of 10km.Also, they cant engage target with speeds beyond 600m/s let alone a 1km/sec.

There are several layers of a fleet defense that the missile must penetrate; the last layer is CIWS(close-in weapons) systems like Phalanx

Phalynx CIWS has a max range of 9km and is known to failure of even intercepting a sub-sonic AShM at times.Killing brahmos is not about destroying its warhead which is just an addition to its kinetic kill which is 16 times more than harpoon.Its 200kg warhead will only make sure that the explosion takes place to suck the ship much faster rather than just making a hole from port to starbord side.

or the newer MetalStorm both come equipped with FLIR (Forward looking infrared) sensors. A single MetalStorm device is able to fire a million rounds a minute

Please provide me a credible link to attest your claims of million rounds a min.

equipped with FLIR sensors the Brahmos does not stand a chance.

Only hot air.

I haven’t even mentioned first line of defense like LRCR (Long-Range Chaff Rocket) systems that will seduce the Brahmos by creating a ship sized decoy 14 km from the intended target.

Brahmos seeker has the capability to distinguish the actual target among a cluster of fake/dummies. SO this so called using of a SHIP sized decoy is a waste of money and effort.

Assuming CAP with AWACS support a Brahmos launch will be detected and countered much sooner I expect at 300km during its hi trajectory phase a capable AWACS system can seduce the missile with false data as soon as the seeker is activated.

Like I said,detection of any missile is not a big deal.But keeping the lock-on target is the need of the moment,which PJ-10 dont at all give you a chance. And Brahmos is immune to ECM.Sorry to ruin your party.

Newer jets like the EuroFighter, J-10B or MKI have electro-optic sensors specifically IRTS systems that can track and use a combination of sensors to cue missiles for a successful intercept of a supersonic sea skimming missile.

This may work fine for sub-sonic missiles which travel at 230-300 m/s but not against a 1km/s missile.

Saturation attack is the only way the Brahmos can elude all layers of a fleet defense. But at 3M$ a pop how lucky do you feel?

Not really.According to its designers and the IN which is using them,a salvo of 2 missiles is more than enough to make sure that large ship was sent to the bottom of the sea.
Its per unit cost works out for $2.1M and with mass production in future , the cost will further come down.
After all sinking a 500M destroyer/frigate is much worth than 2 brahmos worth of $4 M.

May be I might be wrong in saying $4M< $500M