Article Posted on : - Aug 20, 2014

A file photo of the BRAHMOS missile being test fired (left) and CEO & MD, BrahMos (right).

MOSCOW (BNS): The supersonic speed of BRAHMOS renders the weapon its ultimate power, leaving any enemy helpless, and no effective protection against the cruise missile has been created so far, the CEO & MD of BrahMos Aerospace Mr. Sudhir Kumar Mishra has said.

"Supersonic speed is the BRAHMOS' major advantage. An enemy has yet no effective protection against such missiles.

"After the missile is launched, all the enemy can do is run. In fact, he has even no time to escape. That is why this is a very promising weapon. And it has no alternatives in the world so far," Mishra told the Rossiya Segodnya international information agency.

"Even if any other country succeeds one day in creating missiles with similar characteristics, we will be a way ahead already," he told the agency in an interview on Tuesday as reported by Ria Novosti.

A number of countries have evinced interest in the supersonic cruise missile system, which could pave the way for the export of BRAHMOS in the future, the India-Russia JV Company's Chief said.

"It will be possible to export BRAHMOS only to friendly nations, determined by the Governments of India and Russia. Currently, many states are interested in our missiles. As soon as our Governments decide on where to export we will be ready for deliveries," he said.

The 290-km tactical BRAHMOS missile, presently in deployment with the Indian Army and Navy, has come a long way since its maiden test-firing in 2001.

Initially planned to be developed as an anti-ship cruise missile system, today BRAHMOS boasts of numerous variants, each with its distinct prowess to strike down and annihilate all types of enemy targets at different locations and in different surroundings.

The multi-platform, multi-target cruise missile, capable of flying at a top speed of 2.8 Mach, has validated its capability in sea-to-land, sea-to-sea, land-to-land, land-to-sea and subsea-to-land configurations.

By this year end, it is set for flight test in the air-to-ground configuration from the IAF's frontline supersonic long-range fighter aircraft SU-30MKI.

BrahMos Aerospace has also initiated work on a futuristic variant of the missile which would be sleeker, lighter and highly precise. The new weapon, to be called BRAHMOS-Mini, would be designed for deployment on a large number of military platforms.