BrahMos

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.
The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence of the two nations represented by two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. It travels at speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8 and is the world's fastest cruise missile. It is about three-and-a-half times faster than the U.S.A's subsonic Harpoon^[2] cruise missile. A hypersonic version of the missile is also presently under development (Lab Tested with 5.26 Mach Speed).^[3]
Though India had wanted the BrahMos to be based on a mid range cruise missile, namely P-700 Granit, instead Russia opted for the shorter range sister of the missile, P-800 Oniks, in order to comply with MTCR restrictions, to which Russia is a signatory. Its propulsion is based on the Russian missile, and guidance has been developed by BrahMos Corp.

BrahMos
BrahMos and the launch canister on display at the International Maritime Defence Show, IMDS-2007, St. Petersburg, Russia
Type	Cruise missile
Place of origin	India/Russia
Service history
In service	November 2006
Used by	Indian Navy Indian Army
Production history
Manufacturer	Joint venture, Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroeyenia (Russia) and Defense Research and Development Organization (BrahMos Corp, India)
Unit cost	US$ 2.73 million[citation needed]
Specifications
Weight	3000 kg 2500 kg (air-launched)
Length	8.4 m
Diameter	0.6 m
Warhead	300 kg Conventional semi-armour-piercing
Engine	Two-stage integrated Rocket/Ramjet
Operational range	290 km
Speed	Mach 2.8-3.0[1]
Launch platform	Ship, submarine, aircraft and land-based mobile launchers.

Development and manufacture

The BrahMos has been developed as a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) of India and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia under BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is named after two rivers, the Brahmaputra and the Moskva.
Since late 2004, the missile has undergone several tests from variety of platforms including a land based test from Pokhran desert, in which the '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.

Variants

• Ship launched, Anti-Ship variant (operational)
• Ship launched, Land attack variant (operational)
• Land launched, Land attack variant (operational)
• Land launched, Anti-Ship variant (operational)
• Air launched, Anti-Ship variant (operational)
• Air launched, Land attack variant ^[9]
• Submarine launched, Anti-Ship variant
• Submarine launched, Land attack variant

Operators

India and Russia intend to make 2,000 BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles over the next ten years through their joint venture company, and nearly 50 percent of them are expected to be exported to friendly countries.

Indian Navy

The missile is in service with the Indian Navy. Talwar class frigate and Shivalik class frigate are frigates of the Indian Navy that can fire the BrahMos. INS Tabar and INS Trishul are Talwar class vessels armed with supersonic BrahMos while INS Shivalik was the first vessel of the Shivalik class to incorporate the BrahMos. Other vessels of the Shivalik Class and Talwar Class are to be armed with BrahMos missiles by 2009 and 2010 respectively. In 2007, the navy promised to arm the Godavari class frigates and Brahmaputra class frigates with the BrahMos too.^[11] Rajput class destroyers are Destroyers of the Indian Navy that can fire the BrahMos. The INS Rajput, INS Ranvir (D54) ^[12] and INS Ranvijay (D55) which are modified versions of Soviet Kashin class destroyers have been fitted with BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile systems.

Indian Army

The missile was successfully tested with new capabilities for the Indian Army in the deserts of Rajasthan, test range near Pokharan (December 2004 & March 2007). It was inducted into the army on June 21, 2007^[18][19].
On January 20, 2009, a test of a new BrahMos block II cruise Missile at Pokhran in Rajasthan was conducted with new software. The missile failed to hit the right target among a group of targets. The objective was to hit a small building hidden amongst a group of buildings. According to Brahmos corporation, another test of the new missile will be conducted within one month,^[20] which was eventually conducted on 4 March 2009 and was successful

Indian Air Force

The air launched version for the Indian Air Force is ready for testing.^[27] An expert committee from the DRDO and the Indian Air Force (IAF) has ruled out any structural modification to the advanced Su-30MKI if it is to be fitted with the supersonic BrahMos.^[28] January 10, 2009 it was reported that two Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets have been sent to Russia for a retrofit program that would enable them to launch the aerial version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

BrahMos II

BrahMos II is a hypersonic cruise missile that has been lab tested with a speed of 5.26 Mach making it the fastest cruise missile in the world.^[33] BrahMos II is expected to be ready by 2013-14^[34] and will arm the Project 15B destroyers of the Indian Navy.