The production of Brahmos NG missiles could begin in late 2025 or mid-2026. Brahmos officials spoke to TASS and Ria Novosti at the World Defense Show on February 6. In addition, on January 5, they said the company plans to sign two new contracts to supply supersonic missiles to foreign customers.
Flight tests of the Russian-Indian next-generation BrahMos-NG cruise missile will begin by the end of 2025, Pravin Pathak, Director of Export at BrahMos, told TASS at the World Defense Show. “In parallel with the construction of the plant, which is planned to be launched by the end of 2025 – beginning of 2026, the first flight prototypes of the new BrahMos-NG missile will be assembled for flight tests. It is planned to assemble them and start flight tests by the end of 2025,” he said.
“We have just completed the conceptual design or design review. We conducted it in Russia, finished the review, and finalized our working sheet. Design work has begun on both sides,” Atuk Dinkar Rane, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Managing Director explained.
According to him, the missile’s initial launch tests will take place between February and March of next year. Live tests are planned to begin in late 2024 or early 2025.
“Production may begin by the end of 2025 to mid-2026,” Rané added.
He noted that there are no prerequisites for not meeting the stated deadlines.
In 2024, BrahMos also plans to sign two new contracts for supplying supersonic missiles to foreign customers, said Pravin Pathak. “We expect a couple more export orders this year. We are currently working with Russia to obtain them. We are very close to concluding two new export contracts for BrahMos missiles by the end of this year. Negotiations are underway,” he said.
Frontier India speculates that Armenia is one of the potential foreign nations. Armenia, which has recently acquired military equipment from India, is presently embroiled in a tense diplomatic dispute with Russia. If so, Russian approval will be necessary for the transaction.
Armenia seemingly has plans to incorporate “BrahMos” missiles into its existing fleet of Su-30SM fighters. These aircraft were obtained from Russia “bare,” or devoid of weaponry. Although designed for Indian Su-30MKI aircraft, these extended-range air-to-ground missiles have the potential to be integrated into Armenian aircraft through modifications. This integration could enable Armenia to strike targets deep within Azerbaijani territory.
Azerbaijani media reported in December 2023, citing their own sources, that Armenia and India are allegedly negotiating the procurement of Pralay ground-based short-range tactical ballistic missiles and BrahMos supersonic medium-range cruise missiles. At the same time, the Azerbaijani media hoped that Russia would not allow the sale to go forward. The media further speculated that if Moscow permits this deal, Baku will begin selling weapons to Kyiv.
It is important to note that Indian engineers had to change the Su-30MKI design to fit these missiles on the aircraft. This meant the load had to be spread out over different parts of the structure. The aircraft version’s weight was cut by 500 kg, and its length was cut by almost 50 mm to be integrated successfully.
Atul Rane also reported that the order portfolio volume of the Indo-Russian company BrahMos has reached $7 billion. “The order portfolio volume of BrahMos company has already reached $7 billion. This includes both Indian orders and exports,” he added.
Ria Novosti reports that the Brahmos NG would have a mass of 1330 kg, which is half that of the standard Brahmos. The anticipated range of the next-generation rocket is 300 kilometres, the same as the previous model.
The BrahMos-NG supersonic anti-ship missile, developed jointly by the Russian JSC VPK NPO Mashinostroyenia and the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of the Indian Ministry of Defence, has a broad deployment profile and can be launched from surface ships, submarines, coastal missile systems, and multi-role fighter-bombers. It flies to the target at Mach 2.8 (2.7 thousand km/h).
Other Versions
An enhanced version of Brahmos was recently put through its paces in India. It has been reported that its range can be anywhere from 450 to 900 kilometres.
The then-head of the Indian joint venture “BrahMos,” Sudhir Kumar Mishra, told TASS at the MAKS-2019 air show that the cruise missile “BrahMos” could have an increased range of 800 kilometres. He acknowledged the existence of such a technical capability.
BrahMos Aerospace is concurrently developing hypersonic (dubbed Brahmos 2), precision-guided weapons and different iterations of its current supersonic cruise missiles.
