Indian Air Force (IAF) to get unprecedented combat power with the next generation BrahMos missile! A new lighter version of the BrahMos, world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile, is set to be integrated on IAF’s frontline fighter jet, the Sukhoi 30-MKI. Financial Express Online learns that the next-generation missile, also called the BrahMos NG, will meet the future requirement of the IAF and serve to be a formidable deterrent for both Pakistan and China. BrahMos NG is a lighter version of the original missile which was developed jointly by India and Russia.
The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with a range of 300 kms and speed of 2.9 mach has already been successfully integrated and test-fired from an IAF Sukhoi-30 MKI. However, given the fact that BrahMos NG will be a lighter version of the lethal missile, India plans to integrate up to 5 such next-generation missiles on the frontline fighter jet, giving the country unmatched fire power.
The BrahMos NG will first be integrated on India’s indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. Subsequently, up to 5 BrahMos NG missiles will be fitted on the Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets of IAF. At Aero India 2019, BrahMos Aerospace displaced a model of the LCA Tejas with two BrahMos NG missiles integrated under its wings. The maximum speed of the BrahMos NG missile will be 3.5 mach.
Speaking to Financial Express Online, Dr Sudhir Mishra the CEO and MD of BrahMos Aerospace said, “The new BrahMos NG missiles will provide future-ready air dominance to the Indian Air Force. The design and development of the BrahMos NG is being done by the DRDO.” “While some technology will come from Russia, since the BrahMos is an Indo-Russian Joint venture, the new BrahMos NG will large be a Make in India product,” Mishra told Financial Express Online at Aero India 2019. According to the BrahMos Aerospace CEO & MD, the cost of the new BrahMos will be half that of the existing missile.
How will a lighter BrahMos help? There is a weight limitation for integrating BrahMos on the LCA Tejas. According to Mishra, only 1,250 kg can be adjusted under the wings of Tejas including the launcher. “There is also a limitation of space with the landing and take off to be taken into consideration…so the mathematics modeling was carried out and the system was studied. Finally we decided to develop a lighter BrahMos with a range of 300 kms,” Mishra told Financial Express Online.
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