Development of BrahMos hypersonic missile to start up this year

15.06.2011 Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace will start development of new hypersonic missile BrahMos-2 in the current year, said the company's co-director Alexander Maksichev on June 12 in New Delhi.

"We are about to start works on hypersonic missile BrahMos-2 this year. This is going to be radically new missile", he said behind the scenes of jubilee conference related to 10th anniversary since the first launch of the Russian-Indian missile BrahMos.

Maksichev added that the joint venture was about to begin air trials of BrahMos aircraft-based missile in the next year.

"Supposedly, in 2012 we could start aircraft launches of BrahMos missile. It is planned to arm various types of airplanes with this missile, including Su-30MKI", pointed out Maksichev.

Director of BrahMos Aerospace Sivathanu Pillai earlier stated that mounting of BrahMos missile on aircrafts could be finished in 2013. As is planned, Indian aircraft engineering company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd will retrofit airplanes in accordance with modernization project developed in Russia. This company carries out licensed production of Su-30MKI fighters for Indian Air Force, reports RIA Novosti.

Sea- and ground-based missile systems BrahMos are already in inventory of Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force. Apart from aircraft-based version, BrahMos Aerospace developed a technology to place those missiles into submarines.

Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace was established by Defense Research and Development Organization (India) and NPO Mashinostroyenia (Russia); it was named in honor of Indian and Russian rivers – Brahmaputra and Moskva. The New Delhi-headquartered company produces two-stage solid-propellant supersonic cruise missiles having firing range of 290 km and capable to deliver 200-300 kg warheads.