 "Indian Army's Brahmos missile system showcased at New Delhi. It is the cornerstone of India’s conventional missile arsenal. File image/AFP")
On Sunday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a new BrahMos facility in Lucknow.
Singh during the event praised the Indian armed forces for giving Pakistan a ‘befitting reply’ in the aftermath of the April 22 attack in Pahalgam which left 26 dead.
The missile has played a critical role in Operation Sindoor and India’s response to Pakistan afterwards.
“Through Operation Sindoor, India gave a clear message to the entire country of its willingness to respond to terrorist attacks,” Singh said.
“This is not the first time that India has responded to terrorist attacks. The Uri surgical strike, Balakot air strike and now after the Pahalgam attack, India has shown the world how it can respond to terrorist attacks,” Singh added.
“We have adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism… On behalf of everyone, I thank our arm forces for giving a befitting reply to Pakistan through Operation Sindoor.”
But what do we know about the missile? Why is it so significant?
Let’s take a closer look
What we know about the missile
The BrahMos missile is a supersonic cruise missile.
It is arguably the most important conventional missile in India’s arsenal.
The BrahMos missile is manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
It can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft and land,
The BrahMos missile has a range of nearly 300 kilometres.
It can carry a warhead weighing between 200 and 300 kilos.
It flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach – nearly three times the speed of sound.
Around 83 per cent of the missile’s components are now indigenous – that is sourced from India.
It works a “fire and forget” principle.
As per India Today, the missile comes with stealth technology as well as advanced guidance system.
It maintains supersonic velocity throughout its flight – thereby reducing the chances of being intercepted by defence systems.
It can cruise at an altitude of 15 kilometres and then drop down as low as 10 metres when it hits the target.
It is also known for its high accuracy – with a circular error probability of under 1 metre.
As per NDTV, the next-generation BrahMos variant weighs just 1,290 kilos compared to the 2,900 kilos previously.
This will allow fighter jets like the Sukhoi Su-30MKI to carry three BrahMos missiles rather than just one.
As per Times Now, the new version of the missile will have a range of around 400 kilometres.
According to several media reports, India is now sending a second batch of the BrahMos missiles to the Philippines.
India is also talks with a number of other countries including Vietnam for a possible sale.
BrahMos and Operation Sindoor
The BrahMos Missile is said to have played a key part in Operation Sindoor.
This would have been the first instance of the ballistic cruise missile being deployed in combat.
India was earlier reported to have used the Scalp cruise missile, the HAMMER precision-guided bomb, and loitering munitions during the operation to strikes terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Indian Air Force also used the BrahMos cruise missiles to take out several PAF bases critical to the Pakistani military including Chaklala near Rawalpindi and Sargodha in Punjab province on Saturday, as per NDTV.
Though India had not officially confirmed its use , Pakistan did so.
“In response to the firing of BrahMos missiles over several locations across the international border, Pakistan was constrained to retaliate to the unprovoked and unlawful Indian aggression in exercise of its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter. Accordingly, Pakistan launched “Operation Bunyan-ul-Marsoos" early today," Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed as per News18.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was also attending the inauguration, also confirmed BrahMos’ use on Sunday.
“You must have seen a glimpse of the BrahMos missile during Operation Sindoor. If you didn’t, then just ask the people of Pakistan about the power of the BrahMos missile,” Adityanath was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Experts say the missile is impossible to intercept.
“The BrahMos is a supersonic missile. It cannot be intercepted by the air defence systems of Pakistan and China. It cannot be intercepted by any known Defence system in the world," Dr Sudhir Kumar Mishra, ex-DG (BrahMos) DRDO, told CNN-News18.
“We have access and developed our own technology to meet any time of requirement of the Armed Forces. Nowadays, dogfights don’t happen. The reason is that if any aircraft launches a missile, this missile will lock onto enemy aircraft. Once the aircraft is locked, it’s very difficult to evade," he said.
“If we launch the BrahMos towards the enemy air base, we can create a lot of damage. India and Russia only have a liquid Supersonic Cruise Missile. Even the US doesn’t have this. It’s completely indigenous," he added.
“BrahMos is a cruise missile, which means it can take a trajectory from Low to high. It’s very difficult for any ship-based radar to detect. BrahMos has the capability to reach anywhere. It’s very accurate. It’s accurate to the pinpoint level," he added.
What do we know about the project?
The project is a joint venture between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and BrahMos Aerospace.
It is part of the Lucknow node of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC) – which Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced during the 2018 Global Investors’ Summit.
As per Mint, the facility has been built at a price tag of Rs 300 crores.
It spans 22 acres and will contribute to defence and manufacturing within the UPDIC – which comprises nodes in Lucknow, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, and Chitrakoot.
The facility will manufacture the BRAHMOS-NG (Next Generation) variant of the missile.
“The inauguration of BrahMos today holds much importance as it was on this day on May 11 ,1998, India had carried out Nuclear tests at Pokhran range in Rajasthan,” Singh said as per Hindustan Times.
The outlet quoted the ministry of defence as saying that the facility “represents India’s commitment to self-reliant defence manufacturing”.
The foundation stone of the centre was laid in Lucknow on December 26, 2021, in presence of Singh and Adityanath.
At first, 100 missiles will be manufactured at the BrahMos Missile manufacturing centre.
In five to seven years, missiles worth Rs 900 crore will be made here.
The centre will likely create between 10,000 to 12,000 jobs for locals and provide opportunities for technical skill development.
“Today, the BrahMos facility we are inaugurating will generate approximately 500 direct and 1000 indirect jobs right from its inception. This has been made possible, in no small part, due to the ecosystem that Shri Yogi Adityanath ji has developed,” Singh was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
With inputs from agencies