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Nagpur: According to Atul Rane, CEO and MD of BrahMos Aerospace, India is in talks with eight friendly countries in South East Asia, Middle East, and Africa for exporting the Brahmos missiles. The demand for all three versions of the missile — land, ship, and aircraft launched — is being discussed depending on the needs of the countries. The BrahMos Aerospace’s unit in Nagpur, India, is of significant importance as it is where the air version of the missile is being produced, he said.
Addressing AXIS 2023, an event at the Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), where he was the chief guest, Rane said the BrahMos Aerospace’s unit at Nagpur is of much importance. It is at Nagpur where the air version of the missiles is being manufactured.
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Tuesday 12 Nov. 2024
The flight trials of the new generation missile, which is a lighter variant, are expected to start by the end of next year, with production likely to start by the end of 2025 or 2026, depending on user requirements. The new generation version will be more than 50% lighter than the original Brahmos missile, increasing the number of missiles that can be carried. Currently, it can only be carried on the Su-30 aircraft, but plans are underway to fit it in the Tejas aircraft, Rane said.
Rane further said that on the naval side, 10 ships have been armed with the BrahMos missile, with orders for 13 more. The ultimate aim is to have the missile on every Indian naval ship. BrahMos Aerospace is also working on a hypersonic version of the missile, with India, Russia, the US, and China among the countries developing it. However, it is still in the early stages, and cost is a major factor in the development, he said.
Rane highlighted that since the initial stages in 1998, the BrahMos missile has become 80% indigenized, with India being the only country to have a missile of this caliber. He emphasized that there is no competition to the Brahmos missile, which is a one-of-a-kind cruise supersonic missile held only by India.
Notably, India has already started delivering BrahMos missiles to the Philippines. It has sealed the deal for the shore based anti-ship variant supersonic cruise missiles. And it became the first country where India exported the BrahMos missile which has been made under an Indo-Russian Joint Venture.
