September 5, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
India is preparing to configure the BrahMos PJ-10 cruise missile to be deployed on Su-30MK1 fighter aircraft, reports the September 6 issue of Jane’s Defence Weekly. Static and dynamic tests on the ground for this air-launched version are reportedly underway. The BrahMos, which derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moscow rivers in India and Russia, is based on the earlier Russian design for the SS-N-26 (3M55 Oniks) cruise missile. In 1998, a joint venture was set up between the Indian Defense Ministry’s Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia’s Mashinostroyeniye Company. The two entities formed a company now known as BrahMos Aerospace, which would develop and manufacture the BrahMos.
In 2006, reports indicated that Russia and India plan to manufacture 1,000 BrahMos missiles over the next 10 years through their joint venture company. Of these 1,000 missiles, nearly 50 percent will be exported to client states. Jane’s adds that the Indian Army will introduce a ground-based version of the missile in 2007, and that a submarine-launched variant is also under development.
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