India successfully tests manoeuvrable BrahMos

The software of the missile was improved and Sundays test proved its capability of manoeuvrability at supersonic speeds before hitting the target,Pillai said. During the test,the missile hit a free-floating ship piercing it above the waterline and destroying it completely, he said.

The test-firing was part of the pre-induction tests being conducted by the Navy before the vertical-launch version of the missile is deployed on ships. The Navy had carried out several tests of BrahMos earlier also but most of them were done from inclined launchers abroad INS Rajput.

All three Talwar class ships of the Navy,now under construction in Russia,have been fitted with vertical-launchers and other ships will also be equipped with them,officials said. The Shivalik class frigates are already equipped with it.

BrahMos,developed jointly by India and Russia,is also in service with the Army and preparations are on to develop its air-launched and submarine-launched versions,officials said.

In separate messages,President Pratibha Patil and Defence Minister AK Antony congratulated BrahMos scientists and the Navy for the successful test-launch.