Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully test-fired Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM) from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island on June 15. As per the data received by various tracking devices deployed at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, all the objectives of the test were fully achieved.

indigenously developed missile

LRLACM is an indigenously developed missile, all its sub-systems have been developed by separate laboratories of DRDO and Indian industry partners. Aeronautical Development Establishment, Bengaluru is its nodal laboratory. Senior DRDO officials and representatives of the Indian Navy and Air Force were present during the launch.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO team and industry partners on the successful test of LRLACM. Defense Secretary and Secretary, Department of Defense (Research and Development) and Chairman, DRDO Rajesh Kumar Singh monitored all the activities during the launch. He congratulated all the team members involved in the successful test. Earlier on June 13, DRDO successfully demonstrated several important technologies that strengthen the country’s defense capabilities against various types of enemy threats.

Designed using modern technologies

Three consecutive flight tests were conducted on 10 and 11 June 2026 to demonstrate multi-layered defense against long-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship capability at medium range. Multi-layered Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) capability was successfully demonstrated. The interceptors successfully hit their respective targets. These systems have been designed and developed with modern technologies to face new missile threats.

These tests have placed the country among the few countries which have a BMD system capable of intercepting even Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). The first flight test of Naval Anti-Ship Missile-Medium Range (NSM-MR) was also successfully conducted. These flight tests were witnessed by senior officials of DRDO and defense forces. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO on successfully demonstrating these important technologies.

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Pakistan is going to publicly display its Taimur air-launched cruise missile for the first time at the World Defense Show 2026. Pakistani Army has recently claimed successful testing of this missile. After this, many defense experts of Pakistan have started comparing Taimur with India’s BrahMos supersonic missile. Pakistan is calling it an important weapon to increase the strength of its Air Force. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has described the Taimur missile as a symbol of the country’s strategic maturity and technological innovation. He says that this missile gives new strength to Pakistan’s conventional military capability.

Pakistan Air Force had announced the successful test of Taimur air launched cruise missile on 3 January 2026. At that time, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu had said that this achievement enhances Pakistan’s conventional deterrence capability and operational flexibility, thereby strengthening the overall defense posture of the country. According to ISPR, the media wing of Pakistan Army, this missile was launched from Dassault Mirage IIIE fighter aircraft. During the test, the missile successfully completed its entire operational profile and a strike capability of up to 600 km was claimed.

Range and technical claims of Taimur cruise missile

Pakistan says that the maximum range of Taimur missile is up to 600 kilometers. However, under the Missile Technology Control Regime i.e. MTCR, the range of its export version has been limited to 280 kilometers. Pakistan is presenting it as a long-range conventional standoff strike missile. Without naming India, Pakistan has also said that this missile will help in strengthening deterrence without crossing the limits of nuclear tension in South Asia. Pakistan is also trying to increase its defense exports by showcasing it in the World Defense Show 2026.

BrahMos vs Taimur: Difference in speed and engine

Talking about technology and capability, Taimur missile seems far behind India’s BrahMos. BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile, whose speed ranges between 2.8 to 3 Mach. Whereas Taimur is a subsonic cruise missile, whose speed is said to be 0.8 to 0.9 Mach. There is a big difference in terms of engine also. Russia’s advanced ramjet technology has been used in BrahMos, which makes it extremely fast and deadly. In contrast, Taimur has been fitted with a turbojet or turbofan engine, which is technically considered less powerful.

Who is ahead in firepower and interception?

The firepower of BrahMos is considered very high. Due to its high speed and heavy weight, it can cause huge destruction if it hits the target even without a warhead. At present, no air defense system in the world is considered capable of completely intercepting it. Taimur cruise missile flies very close to the ground, which makes it not easy to catch. However, advanced radar systems can track it and once tracked it is considered relatively easy to shoot down. Its explosive capability is said to be of normal category.

Question on Pakistan’s claim regarding range

Even though the Pakistani Army is saying that the range of Taimur is 600 kilometers, but according to defense experts, maintaining a constant speed for such a distance and hitting the target accurately at the same speed is technically quite challenging. The missile can reach that distance, but questions remain about its effectiveness. In comparison, the current range of BrahMos is more than 290 kilometers, while the range of BrahMos 2.0 is said to be around 800 kilometers.

How much danger does Taimur missile pose to India?

Taimur missile is definitely an important achievement for Pakistan and its limited impact can be seen in the event of war. Being a low-flying cruise missile, it is not easy to intercept, but its subsonic speed gives India enough time to react. Pakistan has specially prepared Taimur for the anti-ship role. Its purpose is said to be to target Indian warships, aircraft carriers and air defense systems like S-400. This missile is light, so it can be launched from light fighter planes like JF-17.

BrahMos NG and India’s growing lead

India is currently working on BrahMos NG i.e. Next Generation, which will be lighter and can be launched from more aircraft. Currently the Indian Air Force uses BrahMos from Su-30MKI, because it is a heavy missile. Apart from this, all three Indian Army, Navy and Air Force have included BrahMos in their arsenal. Overall, BrahMos is far ahead of Taimur in terms of technology, speed and destructive capability. Nevertheless, in a war situation, India will not have to take Taimur missile lightly and will have to constantly assess the capability of its air defense network according to this threat.

Russia has shown the world a new trailer of its military skills by testing the hypersonic missile from its fifth generation stealth fighter jet SU-57. This has been confirmed by the Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander in Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Lieutenant General Alexander Maqsimatsev. He said that the SU-57 fighter aircraft is now equipped with hypersonic weapons and Russia’s aerospace forces are getting advanced and modern weapons systems every year.

He told in an interview that according to the government’s order, now modern fighter aircraft like SU-57 are being delivered and fast. Russia has been indicating to install hypersonic missiles in its jet aircraft for the past few years. In February 2023, Russia’s Tass news agency reported that a small but deadly “air-to-piece hypersonic missile” was prepared and tested for SU-57.

What is Jircon Hyperconic Missile?
Jircon is Russia’s most modern hypersonic cruise missile. It was first included in the Russian Navy in the year 2023. This missile has also been deployed in submarines. Its biggest feature is its speed and strength. Jircon’s speed is Mach 9, that is, it runs nine times at the speed of voice-at a speed of 11,000 kilometers per hour.

Its strike range is up to 1000 km, so that it can target enemy’s hideouts from a distance. Its speed and firepower is so deadly that it can cheat any air defense system. Not only this, the strength of its carnitic energy is so high that it can completely destroy the biggest warship or aircraft career.

How far Nircon is compared to Western countries?
Jircon’s capabilities are much higher than the missiles of Western countries. America’s fastest hypersonic missile is SM-6, whose speed is only Mach 3.5 and the range is limited to 450 km. At the same time, China claims that it has a missile named YJ-21, which is equal to Jircon i.e. Mach 9 speed and 1000 km range, but no country in Europe has any missile that can match Jircon. In this sense, Russia has gone beyond the world in this technology.

SU-57 and Jircon duo: Radar also cheated
SU-57 is a fighter aircraft equipped with state-of-the-art stealth technology. It is very difficult to catch it with radar. Now in this aircraft, the Jircon missile has been integrated by hiding the internal weapon bay ie inside the aircraft. This means that the enemy cannot look at this missile until it fire.

SU-57 has been prepared in such a way that it can carry out a very fast-paced distance attack. Russia has already made an air-to-air R-77M missile for this, whose range is more than 400 kilometers. Apart from this, in October 2023, Russia’s government media claimed a new long-range cruise missile test, which is based on KH-101/102 and the range of about 3500 km.

Big question for India: Will SU-57 buy?
India has recently refused to buy America’s F-35 fighter jet. In such a situation, now the defense experts are eyeing whether India will now move towards buying SU-57 of Russia? SU-57 is not only equipped with stealth technology, but now hypersonic weapons have also been added to it. If India buys this fighter jet, it can take the strength of the Indian Air Force to a new height. India and Russia have already strong defense relations and the involvement of state-of-the-art fighter jets like SU-57 can increase India’s strategic capacity manifold.