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| Comparison of Cruise Missiles US Tomahawk, Russian Kalibr and Brahmos India- Russia |
International Military - Cruise missile is a type of low-flying strategic missile with the capability of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads. The cruise missile is capable of traveling at subsonic, supersonic or hypersonic speeds, on a non-ballistic trajectory at a very low altitude of about 50 meters above sea level.
Cruise missiles are one of the most formidable weapons systems in most nations' inventories. However, due to their high cost and one-time use, the use of cruise missiles on a large scale against low-value surface targets is considered uneconomical.
Cruise missiles can be categorized by size, speed, range, and launch platform (launched from land, air, surface ships, or submarines). Often versions of the same missile are produced for different launch platforms.
Sometimes air-launched and submarine-launched versions are slightly lighter and smaller than land-launched and ship-launched versions.
The following is a comparison of the United States' Tomahawk cruise missiles, Kalibr (Russia), and Brahmos (India-Russia):
1. United States Tomahawk Missile
The Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile fired from surface ships and submarines. The Tomahawk cruise missile originally manufactured by General Dynamics, is currently manufactured by Raytheon.
The Tomahwak missile has a length of 5.56 meters, a diameter of 51.8 cm and a wingspan of 2.67 meters. This 1,315 kg missile carries a nuclear or conventional warhead. The Tomahawk missile is powered by a Williams International F415 turbo-fan cruiser engine and an ARC MK 135 rocket motor. This Tomahwak missile's propulsion is capable of providing a subsonic speed of 880 km per hour.
With the Block V modification, the Tomahawk has increased capabilities, integrating a new search system so that it is able to reach targets over 1000 miles (about 1600 Km). The Tomahawk missile is guided by an inertial navigation system and can be reprogrammed during flight to change targets.
2. Russian Kalibr Missile
Kalibr is a Russian ship-fired land attack cruise missile capable of carrying a 450 kg conventional nuclear warhead. Kalibr cruise missiles launched from Russian Gepard-class frigates and Buyan-M-class corvettes, are capable of traveling 1,500 km to reach targets. There is not much data on the Kalibr cruise missile, so some say it has a maximum range of around 1,500 – 2,500 km and some can be launched from submarines.
The Kalibr missile is guided by GPS and an active radar seeker so it can fly 19.5 meters above the sea and 50 meters above the ground at speeds of up to 965 km per hour. The Kalibr cruise missile may lack some interactive data link capabilities and thus not be able to change targets during flight like the Tomahawk. This factor may have made the Kalibr cruise missile cheaper to produce mass-produced.
The Kalibr missile's most significant advantage is that it can be fired from a smaller range of ships than US ships normally carry the Tomahawk, making it easier to deploy. The Kalibr missile is also being developed for firing from static ground bases, vehicles and aircraft.
3. Brahmos Missile (India - Russia)
Brahmos is a short-range supersonic cruise missile and can carry a nuclear warhead. The Brahmos cruise missile was jointly developed by India and Russia through the Brahmos Aerospace joint venture founded in 1998. The name Brahmos is taken from the abbreviation of two rivers, namely the Brahmaputra from India and the Moskva from Russia.
The Brahmos missile is one of the fastest cruise missiles in the world, capable of traveling at a supersonic speed of around Mach 2.8 or 3,430 km per hour. The Brahmos missile has been adopted by the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, and can be launched from land, sea and air. However, the Brahmos cruise missile has a range of only around 290-300 km.
The Brahmos missile is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks supersonic anti-ship cruise missile, with a length of 9 meters and a diameter of 0.7 m. The Brahmos missile has a two-stage propulsion system, a solid-fuel rocket booster for initial acceleration and a liquid-fuel ramjet for supersonic flight.