New Delhi: The Indian Army inducted a new regiment of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on Wednesday. The regiment handed over on Wednesday is a Block-II version of the missile, developed to hit a specific target with a low radar cross-section in a cluttered environment.

The BrahMos is a precision strike weapon with a 290-km strike range, which cruises at supersonic speeds in the range of 2.8 Mach.

The next version being readied for induction will be the Block-III version, with a "steep dive capability", which will take out targets hidden behind a mountain range, for instance.

To match China's increasingly aggressive stance in the region the government has approved the raising of another regiment of BrahMos missiles by the army, which will be deployed in Arunachal Pradesh.

India and China share a common border along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh borders.

While the Indian armed forces deploy the Agni series of nuclear-capable missiles as a strategic deterrent, BrahMos, and the under-development 150 km range, Prahaar, missiles have been developed as highly-mobile, all-weather battlefield support missile systems for accurate and concentrated assaults at enemy targets in the conventional warfare mode.

The army inducted a regiment of BrahMos Block-I first in 2007.

Handing over the regiment to artillery director-general Lt-General Vinod Nayanar, in presence of BrahMos chief Dr AS Pillai, minister of state for defence MM Pallam Raju said, "BrahMos is a versatile system and now available in multiple versions. I am glad to know this regiment is being delivered ahead of schedule."

Lt-Gen Nayanar said, "We have guns for near range and the Smerch rockets for a range of 75 km. BrahMos is the only system which has added tremendous firepower capability to the armed forces for targets as deep as 300 km."

Dr Pillai said BrahMos, which flies at the speed of Mach 2.8 all through its 290-km range, had "devastating power" with "nine times more kinetic energy than sub-sonic cruise missiles".

Having already placed orders worth Rs9,484 crore, the Army is looking to induct all three versions of the multi-role BrahMos in sufficient numbers over the next couple of years. Navy and IAF have ordered BrahMos missiles worth Rs3,568 crore and Rs1,295 crore, respectively.

Both BrahMos and Prahaar are meant to carry only 200-250 kg conventional warheads.