Cruise missiles have gained a vital role in today’s conflicts due to their precision,
speed and versatility. They have the ability to be launched from air,
land, sea and subsea, which makes them vital assets for deterrence and open combat.
Hello and welcome to another episode of The Military TV. Today we're taking a look at
"BrahMos Missile" as one of the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missiles in terms of history,
design and features, specifications, and which countries import the missile.
Let's get started with the history. In February 1998, India and Russia signed
an inter-governmental agreement to establish BrahMos Aerospace for producing the BrahMos
missiles. BrahMos missiles are designed, developed and produced by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture
company set up by Defence Research and Development Organisation and Mashinostroyenia of Russia. 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.
In 2008, BrahMos Aerospace acquired Indian state-owned firm Keltec to manufacture
and integrate BrahMos components and missile systems. This was necessary to meet the increased
orders received from the Indian Army and Navy. Talking about the missile’s name, BrahMos is a
combination of the names of Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. The first BrahMos missile was test fired
from the integrated test range at Chandipur in Orissa Coast in June 2001. Since then,
the missile has been successfully tested from a variety of platforms, including land-based
platforms and warships. The earliest versions of the ship launched BrahMos and land-based
system are in service of the Indian Navy and the Indian Army since 2005 and 2007 respectively.
In July 2019, BrahMos Aerospace CEO S.K. Mishra told Doordarshan a version of the BrahMos with
a range of up to 500 km was ready. He had noted it was possible to increase the range
of the BrahMos as India was now a signatory to the Missile Technology Control Regime.
With its speed, it becomes one of the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missiles.
Now let’s see the BrahMos design and features. BrahMos is derived from the Russian made P-800
Oniks / Yakhont supersonic anti-ship cruise missile. The BrahMos propulsion is based
on the Oniks, while the guidance system was developed by BrahMos Aerospace. The
missile can be configured for land, sea and aerial platforms. An aircraft-launched variant (BrahMos
A) is currently being configured for the Sukhoi SU-30MKI aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
It features a smaller booster and additional tail fins for greater stability during launch.
The ship and land-based BrahMos missiles can carry a conventional semi-armour-piercing warhead of
200kg, while the aerial variant can carry a 300kg warhead. The deep penetration capabilities of the
Brahmos was tested successfully in November 2013 at the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan, India.
The missile has some special features, they are : - Universal for multiple platforms
- "Fire and Forget" principle of operation - High supersonic speed all through the flight
- Long flight range with varieties of flight trajectories
- Low radar signature - Shorter flight times leading to
lower target dispersion and quicker engagement - Pin point accuracy with high lethal power
aided by large kinetic energy on impact.
For the next up we will talk about the specifications,
The BrahMos is equipped with stealth technology designed to make it less visible to radar and
other detection methods. It has an inertial navigation system for use against ship
targets, and an Global Positioning System for use against land targets.
Terminal guidance is achieved through an active or passive radar. In addition, BrahMos 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 maximum speed of Mach 3, and has a maximum range of 450 km.
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 missile 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. The last point, let's take a look
which countries import the Brahmos. 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. In short, BrahMos is the most modern missile
system ever developed by India and Russia and has made India a leader in missile technology.
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