Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had this to say about BrahMos: “BrahMos is not just one of the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missiles but a message of the strength of the Indian armed forces, a message of deterrence to adversaries, and a message of the nation’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding its borders.” BrahMos, developed and produced with Russian collaboration, is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage, which brings it to supersonic speed (Mach 1) and then gets separated. The liquid ramjet―the second stage―then takes it to Mach 3 (around 3,700kmph at sea level) in the cruise phase. It is named after the Brahmaputra and the Moskva rivers.
It has a flight range of 280km, with India capable of extending the range up to 800km. It operates on fire and forget principle―meaning that it requires no further input or controlling 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 even detect. As a result, it cannot be intercepted by any known system. It can strike targets as high as 15km and as low as 10 metres above ground level. Also, its destructive power is enhanced because of the large kinetic energy.
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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.
On January 28, 2022, BrahMos achieved its first export breakthrough with a contract with the Philippines for its shore-based anti-ship configuration. In the wake of Operation Sindoor, 17 countries are reportedly eyeing BrahMos.