Article Posted on : - Feb 13, 2009

Brahmos at the Aero India 2009. DPR image

BANGALORE (BNS): The BrahMos pavilion at Aero India show is drawing large crowds as the success of the missile system is being hailed by the visitors. BrahMos Aerospace chief Sivathanu Pillai is personally meeting people.

The pavilion is located in hall E of the exhibition ground at Yelahanka air base. BrahMos Aersopace has come a long way since it was established in 1998 as it has produced the supersonic cruise missile whose sea and land versions have been tested and inducted into the Indian Army and Navy.

The programme to develop the Air Force version is also on track. Sivathanu Pillai was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti on Thursday that the missile will be commissioned by the Indian Air Force in 2012.

With a range of 290 km the BrahMos missile, an Indo-Russian joint venture, can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg. It can engage ground targets from an altitude as low as 10 meters. At a top speed of mach 2.8 it is among the fastest cruise missiles in the world.

The air version is likely to be fired from the Su-30 MKI Flanker. The aircraft needs to be modified so that it can carry the missile.

The success of the missile system is being hailed in India's technology circle. A large number of curious visitors in the science capital of the country wanted to know about the capabilities of the missile system and the effort that has gone into its development. The officials meticulously answered every question and addressed the visitors to their satisfaction.

BrahMos pavilion is in the same hangar where companies from Russia and Saab of Sweden share space. The Russian pavilions are also a hit as it has supplied a large number of weapon systems to the Indian armed forces. Aero India might be essentially an air show but the entire aerospace dimension has been added to it. Apart from BrahMos other participants include Indian Space Research Organisation.