The BrahMos missiles, which are built in Uttar Pradesh, were giving Pakistan “sleepless nights”, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday. Inaugurating the fourth edition of the UP International Trade Show (UPITS), the Home Minister added that the AK-203 assault rifles, which are being made in Amethi, are doing the same to Naxalites and terrorists.
“Today, the BrahMos missiles manufactured in UP give Pakistan sleepless nights; this is a prime indicator of the transformation taking place... Similarly, the AK-203 assault rifles made in Amethi are giving sleepless nights to Naxalites and terrorists alike,” Shah reportedly said at the India Expo Centre and Mart in Greater Noida.
Uttar Pradesh has journeyed a long way by levelling up its investment climate and investments in the defence manufacturing sector, the BJP leader said.
Investments are now flowing into all six nodes of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor — Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Lucknow, Agra, Aligarh, and Kanpur, he reportedly added.
According to Shah, the investments made in the Defence Industrial Corridor were helping develop defence products not only in Uttar Pradesh but across the country, Hindustan Times said in a report.
Jointly developed by DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was one of the primary precision-strike weapons used to target key Pakistani airbases during Operation Sindoor. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman Samir V. Kamat had said, "When it comes to offensive weapons, BrahMos was the primary weapon used, which was launched from our Sukhoi Mark 1 platform."
A BrahMos production and testing facility was established in Lucknow as part of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor at a cost of ₹300 crore. The plant was inaugurated virtually by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 1. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had said if Islamabad “dares to repeat its mistakes, missiles made in UP will wipe out terrorists.”
Once famously described as the “younger brother of BrahMos,” the AK-203 "Sher" rifles are made with 100% Indian components and input materials. They come with a firing capacity of approximately 700 rounds per minute and an effective range of approximately 800 metres. The guns will replace the existing India-made INSAS assault rifles in the Army, Air Force, and Navy, thereby becoming the go-to primary weapon of Indian infantry units. Thus, from the snowy heights of the Himalayas to the deserts of Rajasthan and the dense forests of the region, reliability, adaptability, and endurance in tough conditions are the key features of the weapon.
The rifles are being produced at the facility in Korwa in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.
"Those with a jaundiced view cannot bear to see India's progress. Under PM Modi's leadership, we have signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with many countries... these agreements have exponentially boosted our industries' export potential, and we have sustained our growth despite facing various adversities," news agency ANI quoted Shah as saying in Greater Noida.
