BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile

In Context 

• BrahMos has been upgraded several times, with versions tested on land, air and sea platforms since its first  lauch. 
  • The first successful test in 2001 was conducted from a specially designed land-based launcher. 

Background and development

• In the early 1980s, the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, conceived and led by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, started developing a range of missiles including Prithvi, Agni, Trishul, Akash and Nag, with a wide spectrum of capabilities and ranges.
• In the early 1990s, India’s strategic leadership felt the need for cruise missiles — guided missiles that traverse the majority of their flight path at almost constant speed and deliver large warheads over long distances with high precision. 
  • The need was felt primarily following the use of cruise missiles in the Gulf War.
• Signing the Agreement: 
  • An Inter-Governmental Agreement was signed with Russia in Moscow in 1998 by Dr Kalam, who headed the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and N V Mikhailov, Russia’s then Deputy Defence Minister. 
    • This led to the formation of BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM), the Indian side holding 50.5% and the Russians 49.5%.

• In 1999, work on development of missiles began in labs of DRDO and NPOM after BrahMos Aerospace received funds from the two governments. 

Strategic significance

• BrahMos is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine.
• Its first stage brings the missile to supersonic speed and then gets separated.
• The liquid ramjet or the second stage then takes the missile closer to three times the speed of sound in cruise phase. 
• The missile has a very low radar signature, making it stealthy, and can achieve a variety of trajectories. 
• The ‘fire and forget’ type missile can achieve a cruising altitude of 15 km and a terminal altitude as low as 10 m to hit the target.
• Cruise missiles such as BrahMos, called “standoff range weapons”, are fired from a range far enough to allow the attacker to evade defensive counter-fire.
• The BrahMos has three times the speed, 2.5 times flight range and higher range compared to subsonic cruise missiles. 
• An extended range version of the BrahMos air-launched missile was tested from a Sukhoi-30 MKI recently. 
• Recently, an advanced sea-to-sea variant of BrahMos was tested from the newly commissioned INS Visakhapatnam.

Present and future

• With requirements evolving in multi-dimensional warfare, the BrahMos is undergoing a number of upgrades and work is on to develop versions with higher ranges, manoeuvrability and accuracy.
• Versions currently being tested include ranges up to 350 km, as compared to the original’s 290 km. 
  • Versions with even higher ranges, up to 800 km, and with hypersonic speed are said to be on cards.
•  Efforts are also on to reduce the size and signature of existing versions and augment its capabilities further.

Source:IE