BRAHMOS cleared for Air Force
Indian Express (March 30, 2010) Print This News.JPG)
Aiming to provide the country’s defence with an extra edge, the government last week inked a Rs 11,600-crore agreement that will pave the way for formal induction of the BRAHMOS missile into the Indian Air Force (IAF), besides giving two more regiments of the supersonic land attack system to the Army.
While the missile is already in service with the Navy and Army, this is the first time that a surface-to-surface version of the missile will be inducted into the IAF. This will give the IAF a cutting edge over adversaries in the region and will arm it with the capability of taking out enemy radars and other air defence installations without even sending fighters across the border.
Top sources said the multi-crore agreement with BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between the DRDO and Russian company, would enable factory production of advanced versions of the cruise missile that can be launched from aircraft, submarines, ships and land. Capable of attaining speeds between 2.5 and 2.8 mach, BRAHMOS missiles have a range of about 290 kilometres. “In the next couple of years, we will have different versions of the BRAHMOS in all the three services,” sources said.
Dr. Jaiteerth R. Joshi is an outstanding defence scientist renowned for his distinct leadership in the design, development, strategic planning & production of tactical missile systems of the country. He has led various initiatives in Joint development of Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) & Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM).
