According to information published by the Indian government on September 23, 2022, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) signed a contract with M/s BrahMos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. (BAPL) for the acquisition of additional dual-role capable Surface to Surface BrahMos missiles at an overall approximate cost of ₹ 1700 Crore.
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Brahmos medium-range stealth ramjet supersonic cruise missile. (Picture source: Tass)
The induction of these dual-role capable Missiles is going to significantly enhance the operational capability of Indian Navy (IN) fleet assets.
It is notable that BAPL is a Joint Venture (JV) between India and Russia making crucial contribution to augment the new generation Surface-to-Surface Missiles (SSMs) with enhanced range and dual role capability for land as well as anti-ship attacks.
This contract is going to give further boost to indigenous production of critical weapon system and ammunition with active participation of indigenous industry.
The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10) is a medium-range stealth ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, aircraft or land.
It is a joint venture between the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. It is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks supersonic anti-ship cruise missile.
BrahMos claims it has the capability of attacking surface targets by flying as low as five metres in altitude and the maximum altitude it can fly is 15,000 metres. It has a diameter of 70 cm and a wingspan of 1.7 m. It can gain a speed of Mach 3.5, and has a maximum range of 650 km.
The high speed of the BrahMos likely gives it better target-penetration characteristics than lighter subsonic cruise-missiles, such as Tomahawk.
