BrahMos battery. (Photo : Indian Army)
The joint venture company that produces the supersonic BrahMos supersonic cruise missile claims the Indian Army will buy more of the world beating missile in the next few years.
News reports by Russian media said BrahMos Aerospace Ltd., the Indian-Russian joint venture company that makes the missile in India, also has the capability to supply the missile to countries friendly to India and Russia.
"Yes, definitely, there will be more BrahMos production in the Indian Armed Forces," said a company spokesperson.
"BrahMos is a world-class weapons system and there is no equivalent in the world today. Speed, precision and power -- all exists in this system."
The Indian Army's boosting its already formidable inventory of BrahMos, the world's fastest cruise missile with a speed of Mach 3 (3,000 km/h), is being revealed as tensions with China rise in disputed and volatile border regions such as Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The Indian Army operates the newest operation version, the BrahMos Block III, to engage land targets, even those behind the reverse slopes of hills or mountains. Block III can be launched in either a vertical or inclined position and is capable of covering targets over a 360 degree horizon.
The army has deployed Block III to five regiments, each operating about 100 missiles. The land-attack version of BrahMos has been operational in the Indian Army since 2007.
The army will deploy a BrahMos regiment operating the Block III to defend the state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims belongs to it.
Indian media reported a huge build-up of Chinese military forces all along the 4,057 kilometer Line of Actual Control (LAC). Arunachal Pradesh is the most northerly state along the LAC and one of the most threatened by China.
To be deployed to Arunachal Pradesh will be the 864 Regiment of the Indian Army's 41st Artillery Division. The regiment will operate from four and six BrahMos batteries and three to four Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MALs).
The regiment will command up to 100 BrahMos Block III cruise missiles, each armed with a 290 kg warhead. It is the fourth missile regiment to be equipped with BrahMos.
The fire-and-forget BrahMos Block III possesses unique trajectory maneuver and steep-dive capabilities that allow it to hit targets on the reverse slopes of mountains. It can steep dive up to 75 degrees.
