India to test BrahMos variant for fighter jets

Manufacturer hoping to attract customers in the Middle East

India is set to test a new version of its supersonic cruise missile BrahMos that can be fired from fighter jets, according to a top executive of BrahMos Aerospace, which manufactures the missile.

The test launch is to take place in the coming months. The 2.5-tonne air-to-ground missile will be fired from a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft that has already undergone modifications to accommodate the new weapon, said Dr Sudhir Kumar Mishra, chief executive officer of BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russia joint venture company based in New Delhi.

The missile has a target range of 294 kilometres, he said. It flies at three times the speed of sound, making it the world’s fastest cruise missile.

“Till now we had missiles that could be launched from ship to ship, ship to land, land to land, land to ship and now for the first time we will have Brahmos missile that could be launched from air to ship and air to land,” said Mishra speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of International Defence Exhibition (Idex 2017) in Abu Dhabi.

Interested parties

The company hopes to sign up with potential customers in the region after the test launch.

“This is the world’s fastest cruise missile and there are a lot of interested parties in the world. We are talking to various potential customers in the Middle East, East Asia and South America.”

When asked whether the UAE has shown interest in buying the missile, he said it was too early to name the countries.