RF-Indian BrahMos missile to be flight-tested in Baltic Sea in 2010.

NEW DELHI, February 3 (Itar-Tass) - The sea-based Russian-Indian
supersonic cruise missile BrahMos will be flight-tested in the Baltic Sea
later this year, the top manager of the Russian-Indian BrahMos Airspace
Company, Dr. Sivathanu Pillai said during a visit by Russia's Security
Council, Nikolai Patrushev, to the company's headquarters. According to
The Hindu newspaper, the launch will be made from a Talwar class frigate,
the construction of which is about to be finished at the Kaliningrad ship
building enterprise Yantar (Amber).
Dr. Pillai said the ship was equipped with an eight-container vertical
launcher for BrahMos missiles and a weapon control system manufactured by
the BrahMos Airspace Company.
"The joint development of the missile is a bright illustration of
the successful work of Russian and Indian scientists and specialists.
Their work is based on a high level of trust," Patrushev said at the
meeting.
Russia will build for India three Talwar-type frigates with the use of
the stealth technology. All of them will be armed with BrahMos missiles,
some of which have already entered service in the Indian naval and land
forces.
The BrahMos Airspace Company currently develops air-launched missiles
for multi-purposed jet fighters Sukhoi-30MKI and sea-launched missiles for
submarines of project 877EKM. Ten of them have entered service in the
Indian Navy.
The company is in the process of developing a hypersonic version of
the missile with a cruising speed of five to ten times the speed of sound,
which is twice greater than that of the current versions.

-0-gor/str