The BrahMos Aerospace Russian-Indian Joint Venture could sign contracts with other nations on the delivery of hypersonic missiles to friendly countries the end of 2019, Indian Co-Director Kumar Mishra told TASS at the MAKS-2019 airshow.
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“Various nations have approached us to acquire BrahMos missiles and we have informed the Defense Ministries of Russia and India about that and are now waiting for their permission to sign contracts. We hope and expect that we will have these contracts at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year,” Kumar stated.
Responding to a question about the countries, to which the BrahMos missiles will be delivered, Mishra said: “These will be the states friendly to Russia and India.”
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The PJ-10 BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed jointly by the Reutov-based Research and Production Association of Machine-Building (the Moscow Region) and India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
The BrahMos Missile is a modification of the Soviet anti-ship missile Oniks. The missile’s name comes from the names of two rivers: the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. The missile’s test launch took place on June 12, 2001, from a coastal launcher. The missile’s production has been carried out jointly by Russia and India.
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The flight range of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile can be extended to 800km, Mishra said. “Technically, there is a possibility to extend the BrahMos flight range to 800km,” he said.
Today, the BrahMos missile’s air-, sea-and ground-launched versions have a flight range of 290km. “We have already tested our missile to a range of 400km. The launch was successful,” he added.
“Today we are considering getting permissions from India and Russia on further extending the flight range of the BrahMos missile. Technically, it is possible to extend the flight range to 800km and this is the task we face,” he said.
