Defence News
BrahMos ALCM: Chocking Rivals at the Choke Point
Recent test firing of Mach 3 Capable Supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles from a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft brings multi-dimensional enhanced firepower to India’s growing dominance in the Indian Ocean, which India likes to call it India’s Ocean.
400km ranged BrahMos ALCM (Air Launched Cruise Missile ) which was tested against a stationed ship in the middle of the ocean might not have got any coverage or any fiery response from the western media like they do with each North Korean Ballistic missile tests but magnitude of BrahMos ALCM test could have been more dangerous for rivals since basically, it can impose Sea Denial capacity to countries which are trying to make aggressive ingress in Indian ocean off lately .
The test raised alarm bells in the Islamabad which was quick to call it a dangerous development in the region but real brainstorming might have taken place in Beijing since BrahMos ALCM could tilt power balance in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) heavily back towards India even though Chinese in recent times have made aggressive push in the region to keep India tamed in its very own backyard.
India will modify 40 Sukhoi-30 MKI into BrahMos ALCM capable aerial fleet aircrafts which will be deployed to hit high-value targets not only at Sea but also against ground targets but they will be true force multipliers while scanning the large ocean for Surface vessels which might be entering Indian ocean from narrow Shipping lanes.
India already has commissioned a naval base in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands which will allow India to assert itself more forcefully in the Malacca Strait. Sukhoi-30 MKI equipped with BrahMos ALCM in Andaman and Nicobar Islands looking over 900 kilometres long Malacca Strait where 40% of the world’s merchant ships sails through annually is what development of BrahMos ALCM is all about, to choke enemy at choke points.
Malacca Strait is a strategic chokepoint which China depends on for transit of Oil for its needs which is also used by People’s Liberation Army Navy to enter into the Indian Ocean to move towards its naval bases in Gwadar and Djibouti to keep tap on Strait of Hormuz which is another strategic chokepoint which China fears India might use to target its energy and trade routes and also real reasons behind opening of its naval bases in the region.
Malacca Strait is an advantageous choke point for India due to the brilliant strategic location of Andaman and Nicobar Islands which can stop or choke entry of any reinforcement to PLA Navy in the Indian Ocean region (IOR).
China with upgrades to military infrastructure in Tibet and a new naval base in Djibouti and Gwadar wants to make sure that it can enter into the Indian Ocean region (IOR) at a much faster rate to secure its interests but also have other routes to invade India from numerous directions at once.
BrahMos ALCM deployed in Andaman and Nicobar Islands along with its Carrier is True Game changer weapon system for Indian armed forces. Not only BrahMos has enough firepower to cripple any chances of rapid deployment of Chinese aircraft carriers in the IOR but it can also act as a great deterrent on possible invasion of Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the Chinese military.
Development of smaller BrahMos-Ng which can be adapted on other smaller fighter aircrafts like on India’s carrier-borne Mig-29K and even possible on another carrier-based fighter aircraft with an increased range of 600-800 km will greatly add to the firepower which India already has developed in the future.
