The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)India Displays Big Missiles at Defense Show . Aviation International News. 19 April 2018. is a long-range, ramjet-powered supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, fighter aircraft or TEL. It is a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is based on P-800 Oniks. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
Land-launched, ship-launched as well as air-launched versions have been inducted across the services of the Indian Armed Forces.
The missile guidance has been developed by BrahMos Aerospace. In 2016, after India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the range of the missile was gradually enhanced.
In 2022, the CEO of BrahMos Aerospace, Atul Rane, stated that a future hypersonic missile, designated as the BrahMos-II and based on the 3M22 Zircon, could be developed.
Origin
The BrahMos was developed from Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOMASH) P-800 Oniks family of cruise missiles, through a joint venture between NPOMASH and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), named BrahMos Aerospace.The missile design was significantly aided by Alexander Leonov, CEO and Chief designer at NPOMASH. The company was established on 5 December 1995 with an authorized share capital of . India holds 50.5% share of the joint venture, and its initial financial contribution was , while Russia holds 49.5% share with an initial contribution of .
Since late 2004, the missile has undergone several tests from a variety of platforms, including a land-based test from the Pokhran range in the desert, in which the evasive 'S' maneuver at Mach 2.8 was demonstrated for the Indian Army, and a launch in which the land attack capability from sea was demonstrated.
Keltec (now known as BrahMos Aerospace Trivandrum Ltd or BATL), an Indian state-owned firm, was acquired by BrahMos Corporation in 2008. Approximately invested in the facility to make BrahMos components and integrate the missile systems. This was necessitated by the increased order book of the missile system, with orders having been placed by both the Indian Army and Navy. Initially, Russia supplied 65% of the BrahMos' components, including its ramjet engine and radar seeker. , 65% of the missile was manufactured in India and there were plans to increase this to 85% by replacing the components with an Indian made seeker and booster.
The BrahMos headquarters complex is located at New Delhi and consists of a design centre and aerospace knowledge centre. The integration complex is located at Hyderabad and a production centre is located at Thiruvananthapuram. Another assembly line is being established at Pilani. The aerodynamic characterization research was conducted at the National Aerospace Laboratories' 1.2m Trisonic Wind Tunnel Facility.
Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE) was successful in preparing domestic fuel for BrahMos. Testing of the fuel, which will power the missile's liquid ramjet engine, has begun at Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL). As per the lab, the fuel will not freeze even in temperatures between −50° and −55 °C. It will replace the imported fuel from Russia.
Development Surface-to-surface variants
BrahMos was first test-fired on 12 June 2001 from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur in a vertical launch configuration. On 14 June 2004, another test was conducted at ITR and BrahMos was fired from a mobile launcher. On 5 March 2008, the land attack version of the missile was fired from the destroyer and the missile hit and destroyed the right target among a group of targets. The vertical launch of BrahMos was conducted on 18 December 2008 from INS Ranvir. The BrahMos I Block-I for the army was successfully tested with new capabilities in the deserts of Rajasthan, at a test range near Pokharan in December 2004 and March 2007. During a user trial on 20 January 2009, BrahMos was tested with a new navigation system but it failed to hit the target. BrahMos Aerospace Corporation's director Dr A. Sivathanu Pillai said, "The missile performance was absolutely normal until the last phase, but the missile missed the target, though it maintained the direction." and that "The problem was in the software, not hardware". The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said that there were "small hitches" in the last stage of the test firing due to delay in input of satellite navigation input to the inertial navigation system, the missile travelled for 112 seconds instead of the slated 84 seconds and fell 7 km away from the target. According to BrahMos Corporation, another test of the new missile was to be conducted within one month, but it was eventually conducted on 4 March 2009 and was deemed successful. BrahMos was test-fired again on 29 March 2009. For the test, the missile had to identify a building among a cluster of buildings in an urban environment. BrahMos successfully hit the intended target in two and a half minutes of launch. According to official sources, "The new seeker is unique and would help us to hit our targets, which are insignificant in terms of size, in a cluster of large buildings. India is now the only nation in the world with this advanced technology". After the third test, Lt Gen. Noble Thamburaj, said that the Indian Army wanted the BrahMos to achieve high standards of accuracy and congratulated the scientists on behalf of the Indian Army. The Indian Army confirmed that the test was successful and the army is satisfied with the missile. This marking the completion of the development phase of BrahMos Block-II, and it was ready for induction.
The 5 September 2010 test of BrahMos created a world record for being the first cruise missile to be tested at supersonic speeds in a steep-dive mode. The missile was test-fired from the integrated test range launching complex-3 (LC-3) at Chandipur around 11.35 am. With this launch, the Indian army's requirement for land attacks with Block-II advanced seeker software with target discriminating capabilities was met. BrahMos became the only supersonic cruise missile possessing advanced capability of selection of a particular land target amongst a group of targets, providing an edge to the user with precise hit.
Block III has advanced guidance and upgraded software, incorporating high manoeuvres at multiple points and steep dive from high altitude. It will be deployed in Arunachal Pradesh. It can engage ground targets from an altitude as low as 10 metres for surgical strikes without any collateral damage. It is capable of being launched from multiple platforms like submarines, ships, aircraft and land based Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL). On 12 August 2011, it was test-fired by ground forces and met all mission parameters.
The new navigation system uses an Indian chip called G3OM (GPS, GLONASS, GAGAN on a module). The system weighs around 17 grams, and gives accuracy below five metres using Indian, US and Russian navigation satellites. The system can be used in tandem with an inertial navigation system (INS) to provide high-accuracy targeting without using any seeker.
BrahMos was tested with an Indian seeker for the first time on 22 March 2018, and was tested with an India-developed propulsion system, airframe and power supply on 30 September 2019.
On 30 September 2020, India successfully test-fired an extended range BrahMos, offering a range of around 350 km, at speeds up to Mach 2.8, an improvement over the initial 290 km. The test was carried out under BrahMos project of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), under which the missile was launched with an indigenous booster. The missile was launched from a land-based facility in Odisha. This is the second test-firing of the extended range version of the missile which has an indigenously developed airframe and booster.
In May 2025, a report suggested that an indigenous seeker, developed by Data Patterns, was flight-tested in BrahMos around four weeks earlier. The seeker performed in a "text book manner" and the company expected an order for te seekers soon.
Submarine-launched variant The submarine-launched variant of BrahMos was test fired successfully for the first time from a submerged pontoon near Visakhapatnam at the coast of Bay of Bengal on 20 March 2013. This was the first vertical launch of an Indian supersonic missile from a submerged platform. The missile can be launched from a depth of .
Air-launched variant
BrahMos-A The BrahMos-A is a modified air-launched variant of the missile with a range of 500 km which can be launched from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI as a standoff weapon. To reduce the missile's weight to 2.55 tons, many modifications were made like using a smaller booster, adding fins for airborne stability after launch, and relocating the connector. It can be released from the height of 500 to 14,000 metres (1,640 to 46,000 ft). After release, the missile free falls for 100–150 metres, then goes into a cruise phase at 14,000 metres and finally the terminal phase at 15 metres. BrahMos Aerospace planned to deliver the missile to the IAF in 2015, where it is expected to arm at least three squadrons.
The missile was also planned to arm the Indian Navy's Ilyushin Il-38 and Tupolev Tu-142 maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft with 6 missiles per aircraft, but this could not be made possible due to insufficient ground clearance of the IL-38, high cost of modifying the Tu-142 and the questionable benefits of modifying an aging fleet.
An expert committee from the DRDO and the Indian Air Force (IAF) had ruled out any structural modifications to the Su-30MKI to carry the missile. On 22 October 2008, A. Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Controller, R&D, DRDO and CEO and managing director of BrahMos Aerospace, announced that trials and tests were to be carried out by 2011, and the IAF would get its own version of BrahMos by 2012.
On 10 January 2009, it was reported that two Indian Air Force Su-30MKI fighter jets were sent to Russia for a retrofit program that would enable them to launch the missile. On 8 August 2009, Alexander Leonov, Director of the Russian Machine Building Research and Production Centre, said "we are ready for test launches." He also said that a new takeoff engine for the launching of the missile in air and at extremely high altitudes had been developed, and the initial test firing of the missile would be undertaken from the Su-30 MKI but did not specify the dates. On 26 February 2012, A. Sivathanu Pillai said that the air-launched version of BrahMos is being developed and will be tested by the end of 2012. This version of the BrahMos missile will use air-breathing scramjet propulsion technology and would be more fuel-efficient than a traditional rocket-powered missile.
The purchase of over 200 air-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles for the IAF was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on 19 October 2012, at the cost of . This would include funds for the integration and testing of the BrahMos on Su-30MKI of the IAF. As per this plan, the first test of the air-launched version of the missile was to be conducted by December 2012. Two Su-30MKI of the IAF would be modified by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at its Nashik facility where they will also be integrated with the missile's aerial launcher.