The Indian Air Force on Friday test-fired the 290km-range BrahMos land attack missile in the Rajasthan desert, repeating a test that has been performed by army units.

All three armed forces have raised or are raising BrahMos Missile regiments. But the IAF is expecting that an air-launched version of the missile that has been in development will arm its Sukhoi 30Mki fighter aircraft shortly.

Friday's test by the IAF was from a land-based launcher. The supersonic cruise missile is now arming a squadron of the IAF.

A joint venture of India and Russia, the BrahMos missile fired in the Pokharan range on Friday afternoon was said to have "met its mission parameters in a copybook manner", said an official statement. The weapon hit its designated target.

"I congratulate the IAF for successfully accomplishing such a complex mission. BrahMos has proved its mettle once again as the best supersonic cruise missile system in the world," Sudhir Mishra, the chief executive officer and managing director of BrahMos Aerospace, said.

The head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, S. Christopher also congratulated the IAF. The IAF is understood to be raising BrahMos missile units to hit enemy targets, like radar stations, and communications bases on land. The BrahMos missile before the test firing and during the successful launch.