IAF said it was the first launch of the extended range version of the BrahMos missile from Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft

The IAF has achieved the capability to carry out precision strikes from Su-30MKI against a land or sea target over very long ranges.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) said it has successfully fired extended-range version of the BrahMos Air Launched missile from Su-30MKI fighter aircraft. The launch from the aircraft was as planned and the missile achieved a direct hit on the designated target in the Bay of Bengal region, news agency ANI reported.

It was the first launch of the extended-range version of the BrahMos missile from Su-30MKI aircraft. With this, the IAF has achieved the capability to carry out precision strikes from Su-30MKI aircraft against a land and sea target over very long ranges, it added.

BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russian joint venture, produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms. BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.

The range of the advanced version of the missile is learnt to have been extended to around 350 km from the original 290 km.

Last month, an anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired jointly by the Indian Navy and the Andaman and Nicobar Command. In a tweet, the Andaman and Nicobar Command said the test-firing was carried out.

On April 19, the IAF successfully test-fired the BrahMos missile from a Sukhoi fighter jet on the Eastern seaboard.

In March, the Indian Navy successfully test-fired an advanced version of the Brahmos missile from a stealth destroyer in the Indian Ocean.