Context
India and Russia are celebrating 25 years of their Strategic Partnership, formalised through the “Declaration on the India–Russia Strategic Partnership” in October 2000. The partnership has grown to encompass defence, energy, nuclear, and space cooperation. A key symbol of this cooperation is the BRAHMOS missile programme, which has reached new technological and operational milestones.
Key Highlights
- Joint Development:
BRAHMOS is a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India’s DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya under the joint venture BrahMos Aerospace, established in 1998. - Technological Excellence:
The missile combines India’s guidance and control systems with Russia’s propulsion technology, resulting in a highly reliable, precision-strike weapon capable of being launched from land, sea, air, and submarine platforms. - Performance Capabilities:
- Speed: Around Mach 2.8–3.0 (three times the speed of sound).
- Range: Upgraded from 290 km to 450–500 km, with ongoing work to extend to 800 km.
- Warhead: Conventional (200–300 kg) with pinpoint accuracy.
- Variants: Land-attack, ship-launched, air-launched (Su-30 MKI), and submarine-launched versions.
- Strategic Significance:
- Strengthens India’s deterrence and rapid-response capabilities.
- Symbol of India’s growing defence indigenisation and export potential — notably the Philippines deal (first export order).
- Enhances India–Russia cooperation in high-end precision weaponry and defence technology transfer.
- Recent Developments:
- Successful test firings demonstrating enhanced range and precision.
- Integration with indigenous systems such as Tejas Mk1A and next-gen destroyers (Visakhapatnam-class).
- Efforts to develop BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) — a lighter, faster variant for smaller platforms.
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