BrahMos (Hindi: ब्रह्मोस, Russian: Брамос) is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between Republic of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited. 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 cruise missile in operation.The missile travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0. The land-launched and ship-launched versions are already in service, with the air and submarine-launched versions currently in the testing phase. An air-launched variant of BrahMos is planned which is expected to come out in 2012 and will make India the only country with supersonic cruise missiles in their army, navy, and air force. A hypersonic version of the missile namely BrahMos-II is also presently under development with speed of Mach 7 to boost aerial fast strike capability. It is expected to be ready for testing by 2017.
Though India had wanted the BrahMos to be based on a mid range cruise missile like P-700 Granit, Russia opted for the shorter range sister of the missile, P-800 Oniks, in order to comply with Missile Technology Control Regime restrictions, to which Russia is a signatory. Its propulsion is based on the Russian missile, and guidance has been developed by BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is expected to reach a total order worth US$13 billion.
Future developments:
UCAV variant - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam asked BrahMos Aerospace to develop an advanced version of the BrahMos cruise missile to maintain India's lead in the field. He stated He said that a hypersonic version of BrahMos which can be reused is needed, which will be able to deliver its payload and return to base. This would turn BrahMos into a UCAV.
It is the world's fastest cruise missile in operation.The missile travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0. The land-launched and ship-launched versions are already in service, with the air and submarine-launched versions currently in the testing phase. An air-launched variant of BrahMos is planned which is expected to come out in 2012 and will make India the only country with supersonic cruise missiles in their army, navy, and air force. A hypersonic version of the missile namely BrahMos-II is also presently under development with speed of Mach 7 to boost aerial fast strike capability. It is expected to be ready for testing by 2017.
Though India had wanted the BrahMos to be based on a mid range cruise missile like P-700 Granit, Russia opted for the shorter range sister of the missile, P-800 Oniks, in order to comply with Missile Technology Control Regime restrictions, to which Russia is a signatory. Its propulsion is based on the Russian missile, and guidance has been developed by BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is expected to reach a total order worth US$13 billion.
Future developments:
UCAV variant - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam asked BrahMos Aerospace to develop an advanced version of the BrahMos cruise missile to maintain India's lead in the field. He stated He said that a hypersonic version of BrahMos which can be reused is needed, which will be able to deliver its payload and return to base. This would turn BrahMos into a UCAV.
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