BrahMos battery. (Photo : Indian Army)
Russia and India announced they can now sell their jointly developed BrahMos cruise missile -- the world's fastest -- to other countries.
BrahMos is a joint venture between the Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia (Machine-Building Research and Development Consortium) and India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) that together form BrahMos Aerospace, the maker of the missile.
NPO Mashinostroeyenia CEO and General Designer Alexander Leonov said Russia and India can start delivering BrahMos cruise missiles to third countries.
"The delivery to third countries is possible. It was previously restrained as the Indian Army purchased many missiles and, therefore, priority was given to that country as a party to the joint venture. And now we can talk about other countries," said Leonov.
India can sell BrahMos because it's now a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). MTCR, which consists of 35 nations, forbids its members from selling, jointly producing or exporting missiles with a range in excess of 300 km.
India became the newest member of the MTCR last June 28, which means it can now develop but not export missiles with a range exceeding 300 km.
One of the biggest drawbacks to BrahMos is its paltry range of just 290 kilometers. That drawback was imposed because Russia, the co-builder of the missile, was a member of MTCR at the time BrahMos was being developed in the 1990s and India wasn't.
Following India's accession to the MTCR, India and Russia agreed to work together to more than double the range of India's BrahMos supersonic cruise missile to over 600 kilometers.
The far longer range will also enable this as yet unnamed model to attack more People's Liberation Army bases in the interior of Tibet that threaten the Line of Actual Control, especially those bases aimed at the imperiled Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh China claims is part of Tibet.
The decision to extend the range of BrahMos was announced by Russian president Vladimir Putin during the recent 17th annual India-Russia bilateral summit in Goa last Oct. 15.
BrahMos' accuracy is astonishing. It can deliver its 200 kg conventional semi-armor-piercing or nuclear warhead to one meter of its target.
Its speed is equally stunning. The missile can hurtle towards its target at Mach 3 (3,700 km/h). The newest version under development will double this speed to Mach 7 (8,600 km/h).
