Article Posted on : - Feb 20, 2013

Defence Minister AK Antony with Dr. AS Pillai, CEO & MD, BrahMos Aerospace, during the celebration of 15th anniversary of BrahMos Joint Venture.

NEW DELHI (PTI): Russia should induct the joint venture BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile to fully appreciate its tie up with India for developing the weapon system, Defence Minister A K Antony has said.

"Russia should induct BRAHMOS in their fleet so that the success achieved in the joint venture will be fully appreciated," he said here.

The missile is yet to be inducted into the Russian armed forces. BrahMos has been pushing for the induction of the missile on under-construction Russian warships which are similar to Indian Navy's Talwar Class frigates.

The Minister was addressing a gathering on the 'Partnership Day' marking the 15th anniversary of the signing of Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between India and Russia for the setting up of the BrahMos joint venture.

Antony said IAF will soon have BRAHMOS both, on land and air platforms, making it a real force multiplier for all the wings of the Indian armed forces.

"Army, Navy and Air Force consider BRAHMOS to be an important weapon due to its speed, precision and power. The government has also decided to expand the infrastructure at multiple centres to cater to larger production requirement of BRAHMOS missiles and systems," he said.

Antony said cooperation between the scientists and scientific expertise of DRDO and NPOM and many other organisations from India and Russia have proved that there is a way to do things faster and take the lead in the world.