Brahmos Missile | Supersonic Cruise Missile | Indian Defence Forces | Indian Missile | Missile
The BrahMos (designated PJ-10) is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, aircraft, or land. It is the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world. It is a joint venture between the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. It is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise missile and other similar sea-skimming Russian cruise missile technology. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
It is the world's fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation. The land-launched and ship-launched versions are already in service. An air-launched variant of BrahMos appeared in 2012 and entered service in 2019. A hypersonic version of the missile, BrahMos-II, is also presently under development with a speed of Mach 7-8 to boost aerial fast strike capability. It is expected to be ready for testing by 2020.
India wanted the BrahMos to be based on a mid range cruise missile like the P-700 Granit. Its propulsion is based on the Russian missile, and missile guidance has been developed by BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is expected to reach a total order of US$13 billion.
In 2016, as India became a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), India and Russia are now planning to jointly develop a new generation of Brahmos missiles with 600 km-plus range and an ability to hit protected targets with pinpoint accuracy. In 2019, India upgraded the missile with a new range of 500 km.
The BrahMos has been developed as a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia as BrahMos Aerospace via an inter-government agreement. The company was established on 12 February 1998 with an authorised share capital of US$250 million. India holds 50.5% share of the joint venture and its initial financial contribution was US$126.25 million, while Russia holds 49.5% share with an initial contribution of US$123.75 million.
Since late 2004, the missile has undergone several tests from a variety of platforms, including a land based test from the Pokhran range in the desert, in which the evasive 'S' maneuver at Mach 2.8 was demonstrated for the Indian Army and a launch in which the land attack capability from sea was demonstrated.
Keltec (now known as BrahMos Aerospace Trivandrum Ltd or BATL), an Indian state-owned firm, was acquired by BrahMos Corporation in 2008. Approximately ₹1,500 crore (equivalent to ₹34 billion or US$471.7 million in 2019) will be invested in the facility to make BrahMos components and integrate the missile systems. This was necessitated by the increased order book of the missile system, with orders having been placed by both the Indian Army and Navy. Initially, Russia supplied 65% of the BrahMos' components, including its ramjet engine and radar seeker. Currently 65% of the missile is manufactured in India and there are plans to increase this to 85% by replacing the components with an Indian made seeker and booster.
BrahMos claims it has the capability of attacking surface targets by flying as low as five metres in altitude and the maximum altitude it can fly is 14,000 metres. It has a diameter of 70 cm and a wingspan of 1.7 m. It can gain a speed of Mach 2.8, and has a maximum range of 450 km. The ship-launched and land-based missiles can carry a 200 kg warhead, whereas the aircraft-launched variant (BrahMos A) can carry a 300 kg warhead. It has a two-stage propulsion system, with a solid-propellant rocket for initial acceleration and a liquid-fuelled ramjet responsible for sustained supersonic cruise. Air-breathing ramjet propulsion is much more fuel-efficient than rocket propulsion, giving the BrahMos a longer range than a pure rocket-powered missile would achieve.
The high speed of the BrahMos likely gives it better target-penetration characteristics than lighter subsonic cruise-missiles, such as Tomahawk. Being twice as heavy and almost four times as fast as Tomahawk, the BrahMos has more than 32 times the on-cruise kinetic energy of a Tomahawk missile, although it carries only 3/5 the payload and a fraction of the range, which suggests that the missile was designed with a different tactical role. Its 2.8 mach speed means that it cannot be intercepted by some existing missile defence systems and its precision makes it lethal to water targets.
Although BrahMos was primarily an anti-ship missile, the BrahMos Block III can also engage land-based targets. It can be launched either in a vertical or inclined position and is capable of covering targets over a 360-degree horizon. The BrahMos missile has an identical configuration for land, sea, and sub-sea platforms. The air-launched version has a smaller booster and additional tail fins for added stability during launch. The BrahMos has currently been configured for aerial deployment with the Su-30MKI as its carrier. On 5 September 2010 BrahMos created a record for the first supersonic steep dive.
Variants
- Surface-launched, Block I
- Ship-launched, anti-ship variant (operational)
- Ship-launched, land-attack variant (operational)
- Land-launched, land-attack variant (operational)
- Land-launched, anti-ship variant (In induction, tested on 10 December 2010)
- Surface-launched, upgraded variants
- BrahMos Block II land-attack variant (Operational)
- BrahMos Block III land-variant (being inducted)
Anti-aircraft carrier variant (tested in March 2012) – the missile gained the capability to attack aircraft carriers using the supersonic vertical dive variant of the missile that could travel up to 290 km.
- Air-launched
- Air-launched, anti-ship variant (In induction)
- Air-launched, land-attack variant (In induction)
- Submarine-launched
- Submarine-launched, anti-ship variant – Tested successfully for the first time from a submerged pontoon on 20 March 2013.
- Submarine-launched, land-attack variant (under development, expected completion in 2011)
Export
Several countries, including Philippines, Vietnam, South Africa, Egypt, Oman, Chile and Brunei have expressed interest in the missile. In February 2010, a senior executive said that BrahMos was in negotiations with Chile, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia regarding the purchase of the missile. Malaysia is also reported to be considering the purchase of the missile for use on its Kedah class warships and fighter jets. Informal negotiations are ongoing between India and Vietnam for the sale of BrahMos missiles. BrahMos Aerospace has said that several Southeast Asian and Latin American countries have expressed interest in the system, with particular interest in naval and coastal defense versions, and that a "definite list of countries" exists. Industry sources say that interested countries include Vietnam, Indonesia, and Venezuela. The intergovernmental agreement between India and Russia to develop the BrahMos stipulates that both countries would have to approve an export sale. On 20 April 2016, BrahMos Aerospace spokesman Praveen Pathak said that the first export contract on delivering BrahMos to a country in the Asian-Pacific Region will be signed by the end of 2016. The Asian-Pacific nation would be a friendly nation that neither Russia nor India has any conflicts with.
One of the major issues regarding sales of the missile is that the nations looking to buy may have stressful relations with allies and trading partners of Russia. China is one of the main nations that has objections about its neighbours getting these missiles for their navies. In recent years, the export of BrahMos to Vietnam has picked up pace with plans and negotiations reaching a possible conclusion in mid-2016. The only objection could be from China, which sees the selling of these missiles to Vietnam as an act of belligerence and interference in the South China Sea dispute.
On 8 October 2019, Philippines was announced to be the first export customer of the BrahMos missile system. In an interview conducted by the Philippine News Agency, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that two BrahMos batteries will be acquired. He added that the contract will be signed "during the first or second quarter of 2020" and that the acquisition will be done through a "government-to-government deal."
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