India successfully test fired the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from INS KOLKATA, navy's most powerful and newest warship in ARABIAN SEA. The launch was flawless and the missile met all its parameters. The INDIAN NAVY commissioned INS KOLKATA, on AUGUST 16, 2014. This is the first ship of this class., with two more in the pipeline. All the three ships will be equipped with the vertical launched BRAHMOS system as the prime strike weapon. The BRAHMOS has a range of 290 km and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg. It has a top speed of Mach 2.8, which is about three times faster than the US SUBSONIC TAHAWK cruise missile in the world.It can be launched from submarines,ships,aircraft,and land. The Universal Vertical Launching Module being used in these has a unique design developed and patented by BRAHMOS Aerospace. The UVLM has the benefits of stealth an permits launching of the missile vertically in any direction.