17:05 GMT, December 18, 2008 India for the first time successfully test fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from an unspecified location at the Bay of Bengal off the Eastern coast today.

The missile was launched from a moving frontline naval platform at around 1200 hours IST, official sources said here.

"The launch met all mission requirements and was 100 per cent successful,'' a BrahMos spokesman said.

Senior Naval officials and senior scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) who witnessed the launch termed it as a “landmark event.”
The Universal Vertical Launcher from which the launch took place, was designed and developed by BrahMos Aerospace.

The DRDO also confirmed in an official statement that the launch from the mobile platform was successful and all mission objectives have been met.

Reportedly three more ships of project 1135.6 class being built at Kaliningrad in Russia will also have the similar Vertical Launcher modules.

The missile’s successful 16th launch on Thursday will give a boost to the ongoing programme of future ship installations of BRAHMOS – the country’s sole supersonic anti-ship cruise missile being built in partnership with Russia.

The missile has already been inducted in INS Rajput in an "inclined configuration."Its land launched version is also in service with the Indian Army.

With this launch, BRAHMOS has become the world’s first and only supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from both Vertical and Inclined configurations from Naval platforms, adding another feather to its cap of records.

This is the first time the missile was launched from a universal vertical launcher fitted in a new Ship. All earlier launches of BrahMos missile were carried out from inclined launchers. With this, the BrahMos missile development programme achieved a milestone as most present day warships are fitted with vertical launchers.