Globally acknowledged for its speed, precision and power, the BrahMos missile system has handed the Indian armed forces a tactical advantage over rivals by enriching them with the latest knock-down capabilities acquired in the two decades of its glorious journey

The Indian Army, one of the largest standing armies in the world, is equipped with huge conventional and strategic weapon systems to defend and protect the nation’s sovereignty and integrity from a plethora of security challenges. The Indian Army, operating from the most difficult and sensitive terrains of the country, has successfully carried out numerous complex operations to protect the nation from any internal or external threats.

The infusion of high technology-based precision weaponry has enhanced the lethality of future warfare manifold and India is currently re-organising its mechanised forces to achieve strategic mobility and high-volume firepower for rapid thrusts into enemy territory.

Versatile weapons like BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile play a significant role in modern battlefields as it supersedes the most popular cruise missiles in the world by three times in terms of velocity, flight range and nine times the kill energy range. BrahMos is unique with its higher weapon effectiveness, reliability, multi-platform, multi-mission and multi-target capability. The advanced weapon system, with its versatility, potentiality and striking capability, has maintained a leading edge over the world’s other missiles/weapons.

BrahMos has made its impeccable mark with a series of successful launches and subsequent rapid induction by the Indian Army, Navy & Air Force. The weapon system, based on a mobile automatic launcher, ship, submarine or aircraft, can be launched instantaneously without additional preparations. Possession of such a weapon system with a distinct capability to strike down and annihilate all types of enemy targets at different locations and in different surroundings is a major advantage.

Indian Army is the only Land Force in the world to have a supersonic weapon with surgical strike potentiality. The mobile land-based configuration of BrahMos has achieved several advancements over the years in the form of Block I, Block II and Block III variants with each having its own distinct potential to hit and destroy enemy targets. The missile has also been successfully tested for firing in steep dive mode which would enable it to be employed in mountainous regions. The deep penetration capability of the missile system against hardened targets has also been validated. The land-attack version of BrahMos has been operationalised in the Army since 2007.

BrahMos missile, the mainstay of the Army’s artillery firepower, is known for its fastest reaction time from the cold stage to launch readiness within a few minutes and once the target data is acquired and transmitted to the onboard computer, including expected countermeasures in its path, the most optimal trajectory is given to the commander by the Fire Control system of the weapon complex. Once selected, the missile takes off in the designated path with high accuracy which is constantly updated by the Satellite Navigation System. The inclusion of the powerful strike missile in the Indian Army has given it a distinct tactical advantage to knock down any enemy target even in the most difficult and hidden terrains.

The BrahMos Joint Venture which was established through an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) signed on February 12, 1998, between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia has achieved many important milestones since its inception. The JV has successfully involved the defence industries of India and Russia in producing the BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile System. It has also brought together a number of competent defence firms and laboratories from both the partnering countries in developing and producing different sub-systems for the universal missile system which has rendered a unique strength to the Indian Armed Forces.

It is the untiring efforts and competent leadership of the entire team of BrahMos, including the consortium of more than 206 Indian industries and multiple Russian industries, R&D labs and academic institutions of both countries, which have made a significant contribution in design, development & production leading to the induction of BrahMos in the Indian Armed Forces.

Over the two decades of its journey, BrahMos Aerospace has achieved numerous historic milestones and realised many ‘firsts’ in the country. BrahMos has also emerged as a potential weapon of choice with several countries across continents evincing a strong desire for the versatile weapon. In January 2022, BrahMos Aerospace signed a landmark defence export contract with the Philippines for the delivery of the BrahMos Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile system to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

BrahMos has offered more punch and strike capability for the three services and is considered an important weapon system because of its “speed, precision and power”. The state-of-the-art weapon system has grown from strength to strength over the years and added new capabilities to meet divergent war scenarios.

BrahMos Aerospace felicitates the Indian Army as the nation celebrates its 75th Army Day in honour of Field Marshal KM Cariappa who took over the command of the Indian Army and became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of Independent India.