The Indian Government has reportedly approved a INR4.3bn ($64m) installation of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles along the Indo-China border.
According to the Press Trust of India, the deployment comprises 100 BrahMos missiles, five mobile autonomous launchers on 12×12 heavy-duty trucks, and a mobile command post, as well as associated hardware and software.
The missile has been developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and NPO Mashinostroeyenia (NPOM) of Russia.
With a flight range of up to 290km, the BrahMos missile can be launched against ships and land-based targets and reach a maximum speed of Mach 3.
The 'fire and forget' missile can be installed on ships, submarines, aircraft and ground vehicles, and offers high supersonic speeds on a variety of flight trajectories, BrahMos Aerospace said in a statement.
It offers nine times as much kinetic energy and flight ranges up to three times longer than existing subsonic cruise missiles.
Three regiments of the Block-III version of BrahMos have already been installed by the Indian Army, and the missile's land-attack variant entered service in 2007.
Image: BrahMos missiles of the Indian Army, mounted on mobile autonomous launchers (MAL). Photo: courtesy of Hemantphoto79.