India test-fires supersonic cruise missile

NEW DELHI: India's military Tuesday tested a surface-to-surface version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which it had developed jointly with Russia, a defence ministry spokesman said.

The missile was fired from the Pokhran range in the western desert state of Rajasthan, bordering Pakistan that was also the site of India's nuclear tests in 1998.

The official said the test was "routine," but it comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Mumbai militant attacks that New Delhi says were directed from Pakistani soil.

The BrahMos has a range of 290 kilometres (180 miles) and can carry a 300-kilogram (660 pounds) conventional warhead.

The eight-metre (26-foot) missile weighs about three metric tonnes and can be launched from land, ships, submarines or aircraft, traveling at a speed of up to Mach 2.8.

A version of the BrahMos is already used by the Indian navy. First tested in June 2001, the missile is named after India's Brahmaputra River and Russia's Moskva River.

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