Exclusive: BrahMos Ex-Chief On Missile’s Journey, Strength And Future Ahead

New Delhi:

The world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, showcased “India’s military might” during Operation Sindoor after it struck Pakistan’s military infrastructure during the 100-hour battle, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the missile gave Pakistan “sleepless nights” during the operation.

From its inception in 1998, when India and Russia signed an agreement, paving the way for the formation of BrahMos Aerospace, to the missile’s first combat use in 2025, BrahMos has evolved over the last two decades. 

Atul D Rane, former Director General, BrahMos Aerospace, spoke to NDTV, sharing insights on BrahMos’ path to indigenisation, what makes it difficult to intercept, its integration with Su-30MK, becoming a “universal missile” and the future of the missile.

Path To Indigenisation 

“When BrahMos was conceived, we used a baseline principle that we would work on one of the Russian engines. We started with about 7 per cent of the missiles being indigenous and quickly upped it to about 15 per cent. But after that, it was a process of the Indian industries picking up production and indigenizing stuff, which was manufactured in Russia. 

“Slowly, over the years, the indigenous content has risen, with various components coming in, and the Indian defence industry has done a commendable job,” Mr Rane said.

“Today, we are sitting at close to 84 per cent…But what is flying right now is only about 74 to 75 per cent, because it takes some time before the indigenized subsystem or system