BrahMos: How a combat-proven missile became India's top defence export

As the US Tomahawk cruise missiles struck Iraqi targets with remarkable precision during the First Gulf War (1990-91), their effectiveness was keenly analysed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation in Delhi. Among those who admired Tomahawk’s capabilities was A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, then DRDO chief who would come to be known as the missile man of India.

At the time, Kalam was head of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), whose five flagship systems—Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Trishul and Nag—did not include a terrain-hugging cruise missile like the Tomohawk. The desire to develop one, therefore, became irresistible. This led to the birth of a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia—BrahMos.

“The story of BrahMos began with the legendary Kalam,” recalled Dr Atul Dinkar Rane, then a young engineer who went on to become CEO and managing director of BrahMos Aerospace, which manufactures the missiles. “The momentum truly gathered after A. Sivathanu Pillai became the founding CEO and MD of the company.”

The BrahMos project took off in 1997.

That year, a team of 27 Indians—DRDO scientists, officials from government defence firms and representatives of private industry—gathered at a military-industrial facility in Reutov, a small township outside Moscow. There they studied an engine that powered a Russian cruise missile. The Russians were willing to share the technology.

As one senior DRDO scientist looked over the engine intently, a colleague asked him: “What do you think?” The reply was epic: “There is no Russian woman more beautiful than this engine.”

The engine powered Russia’s Onyx supersonic cruise missile, and work was continuing to refine the system. The Indian delegation had spent nearly three months in Russia evaluating the technology. Impressed, New Delhi signed an inter-governmental agreement with Russia in 1998 to establish what would become BrahMos Aerospace.

The agreement itself was a rare one. Usually, it was the cabinet committee on security that gave the go-ahead for military agreements. But the Brahmos deal was fast-tracked with clearance at the highest political level.

Within India’s defence establishment, the highly classified project was simply referred to as the “JV”—the joint venture between DRDO and the Russia’s state-owned NPO Mashinostroyeniya. Inside DRDO, as work on the project began, it came to be referred to as PJ-10.

Twenty-five years after its maiden flight test in 2001, the BrahMos has evolved from a closely guarded Indo-Russian venture into India’s flagship defence export. Its combat debut came during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, where it played a decisive role.

“Nothing gives more pleasure to a military scientist than seeing a weapon system perform to perfection in an actual battle situation,” Rane said. “During Sindoor, I could immediately recognise it was BrahMos from the impact [signatures] and other clues. I was on cloud nine.”

Sources said at least 15 BrahMos missiles were fired by the Indian Air Force’s Sukhoi-30 fighter jets during Operation Sindoor. The strikes on Pakistani military installations were carried out from stand-off ranges without crossing the international border. The accuracy and lethality of the missile strikes were crucial in prompting Pakistan to swiftly call for a ceasefire. BrahMos also demonstrated its ability to evade Chinese-origin air defence systems deployed by Pakistan. That was cue enough for many countries to take keen interest in the missile.

India had signed a $375-million deal in January 2022 to supply three BrahMos batteries to the Philippines. Following Operation Sindoor, the pace of negotiations with other countries picked up. Vietnam has concluded a deal, believed to be worth $629 million, while Indonesia has finalised an agreement estimated at $200-300 million.

Interestingly, the Russians themselves seem interested.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Fleet 2026 International Maritime Defence Show in St Petersburg in June, Alexander Maksichev, joint managing director representing the Russian side at BrahMos Aerospace, said the company was ready to supply the missile to Russia.

“We are ready to fulfil an order if we receive a request from the Russian side. These will be missiles for either the navy or ground forces. We have sufficient capacity and we understand what the Russian side wants,” Maksichev said.

While there are several BrahMos variants, the one primed for export has a range of 290 kilometres. Sources say the enhanced range of the surface-to-surface variant of the BrahMos may touch 800km.

Named after the Brahmaputra and the Moskva rivers, BrahMos is a two-stage missile. A solid propellant booster accelerates it to supersonic speed (Mach 1, or 1,234.8kmph) in the first stage, after which a liquid-fuel ramjet powers the missile to Mach 3 during the cruise phase.

It follows the “fire and forget” principle—which means it requires no guidance after launch. Its speed, variety of flight trajectories and low radar signature (because of compact design and use of special materials) make it difficult to detect. It can fly as high as 15km or skim just 10 metres above the ground, with its kinetic energy adding to its destructive power.

The multi-role, multi-platform precision strike missile has been successfully tested more than 10 times in ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore, shore-to-ship, ground-to-ground, air-to-ground and air-to-sea configurations. The advantage of a supersonic cruise missile is that a salvo of five or more are impossible to intercept.

Production has expanded, with BrahMos facilities now operating in Hyderabad, Nagpur and Pilani. A newly commissioned plant in Lucknow has just begun production. All four centres have the capability to churn out at least four missiles a month, with efforts on to further increase capacity.

Demand, though, is rising even faster. The government envisage equipping every major Indian naval ship and fighter aircraft with BrahMos as part of its weapons systems, while at least a dozen countries across Europe, West Asia, Latin America and Africa have expressed interest in acquiring the missile.

Work on developing new BrahMos variants continues. This includes one with underwater capability and a miniaturised BrahMos. The ultimate goal, apparently, is to pair a fully indigenous BrahMos with India’s homegrown fighter aircraft—Tejas and the LCA Mk 2.

“At this point, except the engine, the BrahMos is fully home-made,” said an official. “When we first started production, only about 13 per cent was Indian. We still get the engine from Russia; there has been no choking on the supply front despite the conflict with Ukraine. But soon, even the engine will be made in India.”