Tests of the advanced version of the air-launched BrahMos missile for the Indian Air Force will be held before the end of this year, Alexander Maksichev, managing co-director of BrahMos Aerospace, told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"Before the end of this year, the air-launched cruise missile BrahMos will be tested taking into account the new, expanded demands of the Indian Air Force command. It will have advanced characteristics, including those related to maneuver capability," Maksichev said.

He added that drop tests had already been conducted, and the results were "excellent."

On Tuesday, BrahMos Aerospace spokesman Praveen Pathak told Sputnik that deliveries of the BrahMos missiles for the Indian Air Force's Su-30MKI fighters were expected to start in 2019.

The BrahMos missile is manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russian military corporation NPO Mashinostroyenia.