BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile is jointly developed by India's Defense Research and
Development Organization, DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia, which have together
formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.
Russia and India are continuing to work on further development of the missile in terms
of speed and range.
But a very interesting angle of research has been disclosed recently.
In this video, Defense Updates provides viewers with latest information on this disclosure.
The disclosure is related to a new boomerang variant of Brahmos.
Mr Mishra, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BrahMos explained, going at a speed of more
than Mach 10, the boomerang missile would have a capacity to deliver the warhead, assess
the destruction of target, come back and get ready to go again.
Let us now know the inspiration behind the concept, and understand the advantages of
such a system.
The Sudarshan Chakra is a spinning, disk-like weapon, having 108 serrated edges used by
the Hindu god Vishnu.
It has been depicted in scriptures as a reusable weapon, which can destroy a target and come
back for further use.
Taking inspiration from it, BrahMos Aerospace is working to develop hypersonic reusable missile.
He (Mr Mishra) said, “The late President APJ Abdul Kalam, also known as Missile Man, had dreamt of a
high-end missile program that could be reused as the Sudarshan Chakra is believed to be”.
He further added, “It is a highly challenging project but the technological advancements
by Indian scientists in the field of supersonic missiles have the capacity to accomplish it”.
It must be noted by the viewers that, Dr Kalam was responsible for the development and operationalization
of Agni and Prithvi missiles, and for building indigenous capability in critical technologies
through networking of multiple institutions.
As the Scientific Adviser to Defense Minister and the Secretary for DRDO, Dr Kalam envisioned
the concept of joint partnership which led to the formation of BrahMos Aerospace between
India and Russia.
Every missile broadly has 2 parts:
1. Body: That contains propulsion, guidance system and other necessary sub systems.
2. Warhead: The actual ammunition.
Currently all missiles destruct fully when they hit a target, eliminating any chance of reuse.
This makes them costly.
Also, different assets like planes, satellites or drones have to be deployed to validate
the destruction of the target, resulting in further add on cost.
A reusable missile will be eliminating these factors, and hence will be much more cost effective.
Add to it, the extreme speed & maneuverability, the missile will be technically extremely
hard to intercept.
The disclosure provides a glimpse of what is being thought of for future.
Brahmos in current form is one of a kind missile and is considered to be one of the most lethal
weapons in the world.
Russia and India has already decided to double the range of Brahmos.
To know more, check the above card.
Further, the hypersonic version of Brahmos is expected to be tested in 2 to 3 years.
Planned development of boomerang version will further enhance its capability to a very large extent.