DRDO develops indigenous booster for BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

DRDO develops indigenous booster for BrahMos supersonic cruise missile…..

DRDO unit in Pune has developed a solid propellant booster of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, which was successfully fired for the first time from a Sukhoi — 30MKI fighter jet in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday morning.

“A BrahMos missile operates in two stages. In the first stage, a solid propellant booster pushes the missile to supersonic speeds and then separates. Thereafter, the second stage kicks in where a liquid fuel ramjet engine takes it to speeds up to mach 3 (three times the speed of sound),” a senior DRDO scientist said, explaining the significance of the booster.

Senior HEMRL authorities have expressed that the indigenously developed, cost-effective propellant booster will soon be inducted in the missile and will help save a significant amount of money. As of now, India imports the boosters from Russia.

“We have developed the solid propellant booster, a key component of the BrahMos missile, and we’ve carried out the requisite tests recently. The results of these tests were positive and have been evaluated by the Russian experts. A final test, which relates to mechanical vibration, will be carried out in December to pave the way for the induction.”HEMRL director K P S Murthy said.