According to sources close to DefenceNews.in the DRDO will fast track development of air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) in all front, by early 2014.
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 It is confirmed that around 20 New Sukhoi Su-30 MKI which will procured from Russia will have major structural modifications which will enable it to fire the BrahMos cruise missile. The DRDO also revealed that they are working on a smaller and lighter variant of the BrahMos which can be carried by other aircrafts without going through such modification but till now no test of such missiles have been carried out yet. India’s first Subsonic cruise missile which was test fired in March this year had partial success and DRDO is gearing up to have another test flight by year end. Nirbhay (Fearless) is a nuclear-armed subsonic cruise missile with a reported range of 1000 km. Air Force specific variant of Nirbhay will come minus the solid-rocket booster and will be integrated with 20 modified Sukhoi Su-30 MKI jets. The first launch flight of the ALCM variant is likely by 2015 and DRDO will also be working on a shorter and lighter ALCM variant with lesser range to be carried by other fighter aircrafts of Indian air force. The DRDO is supposedly working on a new missile designated Long-Range Cruise Missile (LRCM). According to few details which were made public, the missile will have a range of 600 km and will be powered by a ramjet engine. DRDO has however not confirmed or denied existence of such a project in public domain but has been tight lipped about its development. It is a clear indication that the missile will borrow highly from the technology developed for the BrahMos. India plans to overcome range restriction by the development of LRCM. Since not much detail is available in public domain some experts are suggesting that the project might have been scrapped or DRDO wants to maintain some secrecy around the project. |
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