NEW DELHI: India expects to sell BrahMos supersonic medium range cruise missiles to Russia after the end of the Ukraine war, according to its maker which looks to export the weapon to over a dozen countries.
In a recent interview, Atul Dinkar Rane, the CEO of BrahMos Corporation – a joint venture between India and Russia, hailed the air version of BrahMos missile as a unique option globally.
“After the ongoing situation in Europe ends, we might get some orders from Russia, especially for the air-launched BrahMos,” Rane told The Week, adding that Moscow’s armed forces lack an equivalent of the missile.
He further said: “There is no equivalent to the air-launched BrahMos in the world. I see that as a game-changer in terms of exports.”
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He also said that the company has been continuously looking at Russia as a market for the BrahMos, adding that it would have given an upper hand to Russian forces in Ukraine had they purchased it before.
The ramjet-powered BrahMos is the world’s only supersonic cruise missile which can be fired from land, air, and sea. India has successfully tested its air-fired version from Sukhoi-30 MKI and LCA Tejas fighter jets.
BrahMos, which has been exported to the Philippines, is capable of hitting targets in the range of 300-500 kms at a speed of Mach 2.8 or nearly three times the speed of sound.
The BrahMos chief also said that the company is in talks with more than a dozen countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America for the export.
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Calling the cost of the weapon “expensive”, Rane said that it is very difficult for any surface-to-air missile to intercept the BrahMos because of its low reaction time from the launch to the impact.
Rane said that the BrahMos can’t carry nuclear weapons because of its size but did not rule out the possibility in the future. “The day it becomes nuclear-tipped, one would find it very difficult to be used.”
In 2022, a senior Pakistan security official said that the missile has a potential nuclear variant.
After selling the BrahMos to the Philippines, India is in negotiation with Indonesia for a $200 million deal and has also started talks with Vietnam.
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