Article Posted on : - Feb 12, 2011

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seen with A S Pillai, CEO & MD BrahMos Aerospace during a visit to BrahMos unit at Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. A BNS photo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (BNS): Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday had a first-hand knowledge of different stages of the operation of the country's prestigious supersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS during his visit to its unit here.

Singh along with Defence Minister A K Antony and Chief Minister of Kerala, V S Achuthanandan, went around the BRAHMOS missile plant and showed keen interest on the missile integration procedures, an official at BrahMos Aerospace said.

The Prime Minister was curious to know the effectiveness of BRAHMOS Weapon System compared to the other missile systems in the world particularly the unique characteristics of BRAHMOS in terms of supersonic speed and high accuracy.

"Singh sought to know the various process of missile assembling and also the expansion programmes of BrahMos Aerospace," the official said.

Company CEO and Managing Director Dr. A Sivathanu Pillai explained to Singh the functioning of different sections in the unit. A presentation of a computer simulation on missile launch and other functions of the unit was also made.

Dr. Pillai also described to him the factors which determine the superiority of BRAHMOS over other missile systems of the world. The BRAHMOS which has a range of 290 km has been inducted into the Indian Navy and Army in multiple warships and mobile complexes respectively.

The Prime Minister was greatly impressed by the missile features acknowledging BRAHMOS as a world class weapon. He reviewed the industrial infrastructure in the country both public and private for manufacturing a large number of BRAHMOS missiles and the ground systems for meeting the requirements of the three services. He applauded the concept of proactive steps taken for product support in the frontier regions for real time readiness of systems.

He complimented the BATL scientists for their high level of skill in producing the unique Universal Airborne Launcher which is among the longest air launcher ever produced in India.

The Prime Minister who witnessed the recently realised steep dive capability by the BRAHMOS missile said that it is going to give unmatched capability to the Indian Armed Forces. The PM was given a first hand exposure by the DG Artillery on the operational system being employed by the army.

He also exchanged pleasantries with the plant's workers and complimented the high skill level of BATL scientists in making components and sub-systems for Space, Atomic energy and missile programs in a big way giving opportunity for exponentional growth.

Sing also appreciated the milestones being achieved by BrahMos Aerospace.

BrahMos Aerospace is a USD 300 million joint venture between Defence Research Development Organisation that holds 50.5 per cent stake and military industrial consortium/MPO Machinostroyenia of Russia which has the remaining equity.