BrahMos Missile in Indian Armed Forces

type055 wrote:

Viktor wrote:

George1 wrote:The first launch of "BrahMos" with the Su-30MKI is planned for March 2015

Much much smaller missile but much much faster (Mach 3.5 VS Mach 2. and without export restrictions 500+km range



read the sign (ultimate weapon system)

consider the size of bramos,  I doubt it has a Mach 3.5  can have a 500KM range ,    higher the speed shorter the range, USSR's  antiship missile can have both speed and range coz their missles are super huge, also fly very high

At low altitude it obviously does not fly @ Mach 3 +, but that is true of any anti-ship missile.
The size and range is quite believable, propulsion technology improves.

Using more modern lighter materials, and newer, more fuel efficient engines, and more powerful booster rocket engines and of course likely having a smaller HE payload a range increase should be easy to achieve.... Keep in mind that Brahmos is based on Yakhont which is range limited by export agreements... not by design or the laws of physics.

Onyx is supposed to have a range of about 500km too... even with older heavier electronics.

Integration of air-based cruise missile with Su-30MKI fighter completed in India

Nice

Nice

The first Su-30MKI, armed with air version of "BrahMos", BBC India

Indian Air Force to Use Russian-Indian Missile by 2016

The short-range supersonic BrahMos cruise missile was jointly developed by Russia and India and has been in use by the Indian Navy since 2005.

LANGKAWI (Sputnik) — The Indian Air Force plans to start mounting BrahMos cruise missiles on its aircraft in 2016, BrahMos Aerospace CEO Sudhir Mishra told RIA Novosti Wednesday.

The short-range supersonic missile was jointly developed by Russia and India and has been in use by the Indian Navy since 2005.

"The missile is scheduled to be adopted in 2016, ten more tests will be carried out by the end of the year," Mishra said.

He added that the next test flight is due in May with the aircraft carrying the missile launcher. This will be followed by flights with the equipped missiles and, eventually, test firing them.

India is Russia's biggest arms trade partner, with more than 70 percent of India's military equipment coming from Russia or the former Soviet Union, according to Russia's state arms exporter.

The two countries are taking part in the major Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA'15), currently underway in Malaysia.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150318/1019682816.html#ixzz3UmFqtUBI

Can Ramjet Engine be modified to give Mach 5+ speed ?

Yes, but it would be easier with a scramjet engine... which is a type of ramjet engine of course.

India to Launch BrahMos Cruise Missiles From Su-30MKI Fighter Jets

High-ranking Indian military officials said that the Indian Air Force would launch a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, jointly developed by India and Russia, from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter in early 2016.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — The Indian Armed Forces will launch a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, jointly developed by India and Russia, from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter this fall, an Indian Defense Ministry source said Monday.

"The first stage of the missile test will start at the end of October — beginning of November," the military source told RIA Novosti, adding that testing will take place in four stages.

The new missile may become a revolutionary new weapon, the head of Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace enterprise said.

Earlier, high-ranking Indian military officials said that the Indian Air Force would launch the missile in early 2016.

The BrahMos short-range supersonic missile was jointly developed by Russia and India and has been in use by the Indian Navy since 2005. The missile has a range of 180 miles and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 660 pounds.

In August, the head of Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace enterprise, Sudhir Mishra, said the supersonic missile’s integration with the Su-30MKI multirole fighter would supply India with a powerful weapon without endangering the aircraft.
Share on Google+

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20150928/1027666520.html#ixzz3n6h1RaQX

Bengaluru: The Indian Air Force (IAF), which has been waiting to enhance the surgical striking abilities of its best fighter aircraft - Sukhoi-30 MKI - has to wait till mid-2016 as the project to marry the aircraft with the Brahmos air-launched cruise missile still awaits quality certification.




At a time when China is test-flying its next-generation aircraft, Pakistan's JF-17 will be matched by the next version of our Light Combat Aircraft Tejas expected only after 2021, and the US talking of selling more F-16s to Pakistan, the integration of Su-30s with Brahmos is crucial. The integration will enable striking at targets 300km away and defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has already handed over a modified Su-30 in February 2015.

Brahmos Aerospace, which will integrate the missile with the aircraft, is yet to complete certification of the launcher. Brahmos Aerospace CEO Sudhir Kumar Mishra said: "Anything that goes into an aircraft has to go through a stringent qualification process."

He said the launcher's main release system completed the qualification process on December 11 and the qualification of the emergency release system is under way. IAF's initial requirement is two Su-30 MKIs with BrahMos but it eventually wishes to integrate 216 missiles on 42 Sukhois. The project was conceived in July-August 2012. Mishra said: "Once quality certification is complete, we must do shock tests. Each system must go through at least 100 tests. We can carry out only two-three tests a day."

He said it'll take 40-45 days to complete these tests, following which the first flight with a dummy missile will be carried out. "We can expect that by next March. So the first flight with the live missile can happen only in mid-2016," he said. Earlier, the agencies involved had to overcome the challenges of modifying the fuselage to accommodate the nine-metre missile.

The IAF is keenly backing the project, sources said. A retired Air Marshal said the IAF understands the complexities involved. "The aircraft is foreign and the missile is indigenous. There will be issues with the first couple of aircraft," he said, adding that there has support from the Russian Original Equipment Manufacturer.

Noted scientist and honorary professor at ISRO Bengaluru Sivathanu Pillai on Saturday called ‘BrahMos’- the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile, a “brahmastra for Indian Armed forces” and “a war winner” on Saturday. Known as the ‘Father of BrahMos’, Pillai was speaking at the 12th convocation of the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DAIICT) at Gandhinagar that saw 379 students, including 8 Ph. D scholars receive their degrees at the convocation ceremony.

On being quizzed on the need for more missiles like ‘BrahMos’ in light of India-Pakistan’s current political situation, Pillai said, “Today if you look at BrahMos, it is the only supersonic cruise missile operational in the whole world. No other country has ventured to have supersonic system in the armed forces. We have ‘BrahMos’ operational in the navy in the naval fleet, we have the army on the land force and very soon it will be with the airforce. So when we have the tri-service operation of the Brahmos, it is going to be a war winner. As you have seen in the Gulf War, the major victory of the Gulf War was the deployment of Tomahawk missiles by the Allied forces to destroy the enemy’s assets first so that way we have got a very good weapon available to give victory to India.”

Calling India self-sufficient in space technology, the noted scientist averred that going by the demand from the world over, the next move for India should be to market its space technology. “So we are going for more number of launches in a year using the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and the trend is to go for “smaller satellites”. The navigation and the remote sensing satellites are becoming very small and they want to have interconnectivity and more revisit time. Whereas the communication satellites are going bigger and bigger, so to suit the trend the space research program will adapt itself so that we will be able to serve the nation and also we get sizable market from the world,” he added.

Speaking to students, Pillai spoke about the need for a rehaul in India’s education system and creation of innovation in ICT education and start-ups and knowledge system powerhouse to unleash India’s knowledge potential.
He said, “Startup and entrepreneurship has become a very important components of the education. I have seen in the IITs and institutions like the IICT the major component of the education is turning towards how we can mould the youngsters to entrepreneurs. That’s a big turning point in our education system which is going to make things different…In India if you see…unlike American and other countries where research has been given more important component of education, in India that has not picked up well. But our country needs that change, research should become more present-age of the education system than the teaching part.”

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/brahmos-is-a-brahmastra-for-indian-armed-forces-says-noted-scientist/#sthash.Ht0KgXsO.dpuf

Russian-Indian Missile to BeTest Fired From Su-30MKI Jet Before End 2016

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/news/20160204/1034218328/Russia-Missile-Test-soon.html#ixzz3zEua2lKR

Russian-Indian BrahMos Missile to Be Test-Fired From Su-30MKI in September

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20160328/1037069655/brahmos-test-su30mki.html#ixzz44DAHp05q

Four nations are negotiating the purchase of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles, the head of Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace enterprise, Sudhir Mishra, said Monday.

GOA (Sputnik) — BrahMos is a short-range supersonic missile, which has been used by the Indian Navy since 2005. The missile has a range of 180 miles and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 660 pounds.

"Defense export is a very sensitive subject, we cannot say much without permission of our governments. However, I can say that currently consultations are being held with four foreign countries," Mishra told RIA Novosti during the Defexpo India 2016.

He did not specify which nations are interested in buying the missiles.
Manufacturer of the missile, BrahMos Aerospace was formed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia. It produces weapons systems using Russian and Indian technology.


Read more: http://sputniknews.com/science/20160328/1037072676/four-countries-brahmos.html#ixzz44Ibr3oST

More BrahMos to Come: India Gets Two New Supersonic Cruise Missiles

Two more regiments of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by Russia and India will be inducted into the Indian Army within approximately two weeks, Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – The country’s army already possesses three regiments of the Block III version of BrahMos missiles. The induction of new missile regiments is expected to boost India's air defense capabilities.

"The process of induction of two more regiments [of BrahMos missile] in the Indian Army is in the final stage and within 15 days, these regiments will be inducted in Indian Army," Parrikar was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency on Thursday.

BrahMos, a word combining Brahmaputra and Moskva, is a short-range supersonic missile, which has been in manufactured by the Indian Navy since 2005. The missile has a range of 180 miles and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 660 pounds.

On Monday, head of the Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace enterprise, Sudhir Mishra, announced that a BrahMos cruise missile may be installed on a Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) being jointly developed by Moscow and New Delhi.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160401/1037324740/russia-india-brahmos-missile.html#ixzz44cTBJ9Pj

Brahmos is one of the most successful Indo-Russian joint venture, way to go !

interview with Sudhir Mishra Brahmos CEO

BRAHMOS will soon achieve 90-degree Steep Dive capability: Sudhir Mishra

http://brahmand.com/news/BRAHMOS-will-soon-achieve-90degree-Steep-Dive-capability-Sudhir-Mishra/14738/1/10.html

NEW DELHI: India's BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile, developed with Russia, is gearing up to achieve a 90-degree steep dive capability that could be a game-changer, BrahMos Aerospace Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Sudhir Kumar Mishra said in an exclusive chat with Arming India here.

At present, BRAHMOS missile has demonstrated a 70-degree steep dive attack capability to target enemy positions behind a mountainous terrain. A missile regiment with such a capability has already been approved for the Indian Army and orders placed with BrahMos Aerospace.

The 90-degree steep dive capability, once achieved, would provide India greater strike rate to target enemy assets at the full 290-km range, and directly overhead. What's been left unsaid is that this capability enables BRAHMOS to be used as a carrier-killer, if need be.

EXCERPTS FROM THE INTERVIEW

Tell us more about the steep dive BRAHMOS, which, you were saying, is not just the steep dive variant?

In May 2015, we conducted the flight test of BRAHMOS land-to-land version. The range was more than 250 km. As you know, we don't have such a long test range available on our main land. Earlier, we used to do the flight tests from Balasore towards any point in the sea, and by the help of software and telemetry system, we could know that the missile has hit that particular point.

But for the Army, they were talking about a precision hit. They wanted to see if we have a target, then where the missile will go and hit it. For that purpose, we wanted a longer test range, which is not available anywhere on the main land. There are limitations in Pokhran (test range in Rajasthan desert) too.

So we did the test in the Bay of Bengal from the Andaman's and we conducted the flight tests. The land-attack missile was launched and hit the target, like a "bull's eye" well within five meters of range. This test also validated several other features of our missile. The very first feature was 'Way Point' and we took deviations in missile's path at pre-determined points to avoid populated areas and reach the designated target. We achieved that capability. 'Way Point' means the missile had taken an alternative route by avoiding the populated areas. Two way points were taken during the May 2015 tests.

The missile followed a "text-book trajectory" and hit the target with pin-point accuracy. This was the weapon's number two capability.

The third was that we lifted the missile from the mainland, from Northern Command, right up to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This proved that our missile system can be carried by an aircraft and can be deployed at a very short notice. That capability was also proved.

Apart from that, the missile test was conducted by the users, the Army. We took part just as spectators and didn't even tell them how and what to do. We were only present there. The test firing was conducted completely by the Indian Army's Artillery Division in the presence of all of their senior officers.

It was a moment of great achievement for BrahMos Aerospace and DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) that our designed missile could achieve the target. For the Army, the range makes a lot of difference, because ours is a conventional, tactical missile. It should be able to pin-point and take on the target, be it a rail bridge or Road Bridge or a house in a crowded locality or an enemy hidden behind the mountainous region.

So you want to take on the target very precisely and as of now, we don't see the armed forces having any missile system other than the BRAHMOS with such fine prowess. We proved that to our users and also gave a lot of confidence to the armed forces that by using the BRAHMOS system, they can defend the Nation, protect its safety and sovereignty. It is a milestone, a technological achievement. With this test, we proved what we have been telling them -- that this missile can go a long distance (of its full range) and hit the target.

The steep dive is a sharp maneuver in a mountainous region and it can go over to the shadow area of a mountain to take out that target, practically a top-down attack. Is that the right understanding of what this missile can achieve?

Yes, you are correct. One thing is, any cruise missile is very efficient and effective if you take on a target parallel to the ground or sea. But by going at supersonic cruise mode and then doing such a maneuver of taking on the target from the top is technologically very challenging.

BRAHMOS is also a very potent weapon with the services, because the enemy won't know until the last moment that a missile is approaching. You have to make several changes in the software, control and guidance scheme and then tune the seeker in such a manner that it can achieve that capability. The guidance system also has to be very precise. There are so many redundancies in our guidance system - right from the INS, GPS, GLONASS and GAGAN. We made a provision for IRNSS too, which is going to be our Indian navigation system. So, it is a very satisfying machine as far as engineering is concerned.

Is it real time guidance, as if you spot a target, it will be guided to it?

Yes, you are right. It is a real time guidance by network centricity.

Is this not there in the other variants of BRAHMOS?

It is the users who decide what mission they want. This was the specific requirement of the Indian Army, which we have provided to them. Missile is nothing but software entity and to meet the software and physical requirements, you plug in various sub-systems. For ships, they usually say that if it is in horizontal mode, it meets the requirement. But for land, it sometimes requires to go in a cruise mode and hit the target in horizontal or vertical steep dive mode, or even have surround capability, which means it is able to go around the hill and hit the target. We are also working on this surround capability. In fact, our next target is to develop this near vertical and surround capability for the missile. It all depends on the missile. We would like to achieve this near vertical capability which will provide a different kind of capability to the users. We have achieved up to 70 degrees of steep-dive angle. Soon, we intend to have up to 90-degree steep-dive angle. It will be very effective once we achieve this near vertical capability for our weapon.

This would be the longest range conventional weapon with the Army and an artillery weapon. It actually enhances the conventional range limitations of the Army, as it is usually said that the Army only tackles a 40-km range and this new range will change the concept completely.

As a scientist, my aspiration and objective is to meet the user's requirements. Today, if the Army says they want 200- or 300-km, we provide that to them. Tomorrow, if they say 500-km, we will provide that. If they say 1,000-km, we can provide that too. As DRDO scientist, our job is to provide the capability to our users. It is for the Army, Navy and Air Force to make their own plan and we just plug into that. As scientists, our philosophy and objective is to provide the technological competence and muscle to the users. They said they wanted up to 300-km and we provided that to them.

There is also Russia in this project and there are MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) limitations, so we understand the 290-km range.

When we talk about the future of BRAHMOS, what are the possibilities?

If your question is on scientific lines, then certainly we would like to provide more capabilities. We would like to go for different versions of the same missile. But about the range, we would like to strictly adhere to MTCR guidelines and all international treaties. India is having such an engineering capability that we don't foresee any problems in meeting any aspiration of the users.

India developing seekers for BRAHMOS, other missiles: Sudhir Mishra
Read More:
http://brahmand.com/news/India-developing-seekers-for-BRAHMOS-other-missiles-Sudhir-Mishra/14739/1/10.html

Arming India Interview: Part 2

NEW DELHI: India is developing its own seeker technology for its missiles, with efforts from the state research and development agencies and the private sector. Once ready, this indigenous seeker technology could be integrated on the BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile and other Indian missiles from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) stable.

In the future, India will be able to use the indigenous seekers, on BRAHMOS too, though currently it uses the Russian seekers, BrahMos Aerospace Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Sudhir Kumar Mishra told Arming India in an exclusive interview. A few private sector companies from India too are part of the efforts.

Mishra said it is possible for India to have the capability in the future to produce the entire BRAHMOS system indigenously. He added that India learnt canisterisation of missiles know-how from Russia under the BrahMos cooperation.

EXCERPTS FROM THE INTERVIEW

So far, we have been looking at making it supersonic. This JV has the capability to make cruise missiles, like nobody else in India. Now, could you become the production agency for other cruise missiles like what the DRDO is developing, like subsonic one?

We are willing to expand our business plan. We would like to be known as a Missile company that makes subsonic to supersonic to hypersonic missiles. There are certain limitations in the light of the India-Russia inter-governmental agreement. If the Governments feel and they carry out certain amendments to the existing inter-governmental agreement, which is the guiding force behind this very successful project, then certainly we can.

Have you made any such suggestion yet?

No, we have not. But it is a dream to make subsonic to hypersonic. We would certainly like to do that. But I am not able to answer this precisely, as there are still so many gaps and some dark areas. We are certainly trying to overcome them. Maybe in the future, I would be in a position to answer that question.

One more thing, you had asked about our future plans. We are already working on the hypersonic version. But hypersonic technologies are futuristic and are different from the existing engineering rules and laws, which may not be applicable at that speed. So we will have to come out with new engineering materials, new ruggedized electronics, different control and guidance laws, aerodynamics design, manufacturing process to meet the new material and new design requirements. These are the challenges that we face for hypersonic missile. BrahMos Aerospace, DRDO and NPOM, our Russian partner, are all working in this area.

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam gave a very motivational slogan: You can't be second or third all the time and you have to be first someday in some technology. Some time ago, INFOSYS mentor Narayana Murthy commented that in the past 60-70 years, India has not made any breakthrough in science and technology. So, in developing a hypersonic BRAHMOS, we want to break that jinx, to overcome that jinx, and become the first in the world to develop a hypersonic cruise missile. It could be the biggest scientific breakthrough for India. And it has all the potential to become one.

This hypersonic BRAHMOS missile requirement, has this been conveyed by the services?

What happens is the Services have their aspirations and the Engineers have their dreams and competence to think of the future to offer concepts, products, capabilities and competencies to the users. Both cannot imagine in a vacuum. There has to be a basis. Right now, they cannot propose something that is still on the paper. Hypersonic technology is not even on the paper. It is still in the minds of the scientists. It is still an evolving technology. The forces say, if you offer a hypersonic missile, we will take it. The day we achieve that the users will surely grab that.

You talked about the steep dive BRAHMOS which can be operated through different guidance software. How much of it is Indian?

Lots of software, all ground systems, support systems, guidance software are ours. But mission software is theirs. We are completely embedded into their software.

The seeker technology, is that Russian?

BrahMos is a joint venture and Russians hold 49.5 per cent of the equity. When we signed the inter-governmental agreement, it was agreed that the engine and the seekers are going to be the work share of Russia. Rest of the work share will be India's. Because of this reason, we are still using the seeker built by Russians. At the same time, BrahMos, DRDO and several other private companies in India have initiated work on developing a seeker. I would like to give you the names of Data-Patterns from Chennai, Alpha Design Technologies from Bangalore and ECIL. They are developing the seeker technology. DRDO is also working on this technology. In future, we will be able to use this seeker in our BRAHMOS.

There is one more factor we should consider -- the Russian side would also like to keep some business with them. If we talk about 100 per cent indigenisation, then it would not remain a joint venture. It would become a completely Indian company. It is not in the right spirit of partnership that you grab all businesses and leave your partner high and dry.

When the Indian entities develop the seeker, would you be able to use this India-made seeker? In the given format, will you be able to use it?

Maybe in 2-3 years. They are now developing it. Russians have agreed that if the design and development cost of the seeker by the Indian companies is low, they will also take it. Now, the business is commercial in nature. The world has moved away from ownership to economic benefits.

Do these companies have a Russian collaboration?

They are developing in collaboration with DRDO and BrahMos.

The seeker technology indigenisation, please tell us more about it. Did you approach the Indian companies or they did it suo moto?

We adopted two approaches. First, we gave a contract to ECIL and Data Patterns for the new kind of RF SCAN seekers and they are working along with DRDO to do the design, development and testing. Under the second approach, Data Patterns and Alpha Design, both said that they can undertake development of RF Mono Pulse seeker in 'No Cost, No Commitment' model and if they develop a seeker, then I should replace the existing seeker with their seeker. These are the two models. Right now, we are using a RF Mono Pulse seeker and hence if they come up with it, we can replace the seeker today itself. But the RF SCAN seeker is futuristic.

With the seeker technology, BrahMos and DRDO are helping the Indian entities. Can this be used in other missiles also or is it specific to cruise missiles?

The seekers are used in the terminal, homing stage of the flight. So, it can be used in any kind of missiles. When you are targeting, you are using the seeker in the last 50 or 100 seconds of your flight. Whether it is BRAHMOS or any missile. So, the seeker can be used in any missile.

Will we continue to be dependent on Russia for engines for BRAHMOS?

There is no question of being dependent on Indian or Russian vendors. This is a JV and we need to give some business to Russians. As per the inter-governmental agreement, engine is the work share of the Russians and we will be using the Russian engines. We will continue to use the Russian engines. There is no harm, as we never faced any discrimination or capability degradation.

Have you learned to make the engines?

It is a matter of trust. What they get from us, they don't reopen and what we get from them, we don't reopen.

What have you learnt from this BrahMos experience that you had not as DRDO scientist?

We learned many things through this JV. The first thing I would like to tell you is the canisterised system of missiles, which were not available in India. We took up a project to indigenise and indigenously develop canister for BRAHMOS missile, and this was meant only for the BRAHMOS.

But a variant of this canister has been used in the Agni-I's canisterisation as well. That's a technological benefit from the JV. Whatever guidance system has been used in BRAHMOS is also being used in other missile systems. We have created a manufacturing capability in the country and this eco-system is able to support other missiles too. BrahMos is the first unique JV in which we designed and developed a whole weapon system - a ground system, command and control, missile and other components. This experience has percolated to other DRDO projects as well. We learnt a lot from this JV project.

Will you have the capability in the future to develop and use the entire BRAHMOS system within India?

Yes, I believe in the future, one day, we will have the capability to completely manufacture BRAHMOS using Indian work share. Again, I reiterate that it will not be in the right spirit of partnership. The seeker we are developing can be used in BRAHMOS and other missile systems as well. Soon, the warhead will also get Indian work share. We have already conducted the tests and are waiting for their concurrence. Soon, I feel within a year or one-and-half years, we should be able do it.

BRAHMOS can seamlessly integrate on any globally-made submarine: Sudhir Mishra
Read More:
http://brahmand.com/news/BRAHMOS-can-seamlessly-integrate-on-any-globallymade-submarine-Sudhir-Mishra/14740/1/10.html

NEW DELHI: The Indo-Russian BRAHMOS missile can be integrated on submarines built by global manufacturers without much technological challenge and this has been validated by several of the submarine builders, BrahMos Aerospace Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Sudhir Kumar Mishra said in an exclusive interview to Arming India.

BrahMos Aerospace has already shared the integration data with French, German, Russian and Spanish submarines builders, apart from the Indian public sector submarine builder, Mishra said. This could mean India's Project 75I, the six second line of conventional submarines for which a Request for Proposals is awaited, could deploy this Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile in the future, irrespective of the global submarine manufacturer that India could tie-up with for building these Air-Independent Propulsion capable vessels.

BrahMos is also readying to validate the air-launched BRAHMOS from an Indian Air Force's Sukhoi combat aircraft and the test could take place anytime soon, with the work on the missile set to be over next month.

EXCERPTS FROM THE INTERVIEW

What is your order book?

May, June and July 2015 have been very happy months for us. We got orders for six ships, both retrofit and new, which the DAC has approved. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has also approved the fourth regiment for the Indian Army. This in itself is more than a $1 billion order book. We already had orders until 2022. Now it means, we can live till 2027. It has extended by another five years, plus another 10 years of service. That is, minimum until 2036, we will survive, as we provide product support also. It has been an interesting, fruitful and rewarding months. The ships are Project 17A and the first three Talwar class guided frigates.

What about the submarine version of BRAHMOS? Has there been any development there?

BrahMos Aerospace has demonstrated, by flight testing from a pontoon, that we have the capability to make a submarine-launched BRAHMOS also. Now, all of us know that a lot of submarines for our Navy are under-construction and are going to be constructed at several shipyards. The Indian Navy knows about the capabilities of BRAHMOS and I am sure they will consider fitment of BRAHMOS on some of their submarines. Because, BRAHMOS offers a unique capability. It is a cruise missile, can attack land targets or ships. I am sure that they are considering it and we are talking to several people. Yes, the services are having a lot of interest in submarine-launched BRAHMOS. It is a universal missile. We don't have any technical problems or challenges. We have already demonstrated it and it is ready to fit in. So, this is from our side.

From the side of the platform suppliers, we have spoken to all the submarine manufacturers in the world and they have certified and given in writing that they can integrate BRAHMOS into their platforms without any problem. We have also shared with them the integration data on our design, whether French, German, Russian, Spanish or Indian.

What about the air-launched BRAHMOS?

That is the real challenge facing us. We are going to launch. Let me just give you the quantum of work. When you want to integrate a weapon on an aircraft, especially a weapon like BRAHMOS which weighs 2,500 kg, and the aircraft is not having any provision to integrate such kind of weapons, then it becomes very challenging. The challenges were, first we have modified the aircraft itself. It means, the platform itself has been modified. HAL Nasik has done a fantastic job. Earlier, Sukhoi Design Bureau, the original manufacturer of the aircraft, asked huge amount of money - they asked for $200 million - and we didn't have that much money to integrate. So, HAL took up this task as an engineering challenge. They took two aircraft, modified and successfully handed over these aircraft during Aero India to BrahMos Aerospace, and now the ASTE of Indian Air Force are flying these modified aircraft successfully without a single problem. It is a great engineering capability that we have achieved.

Second is the launcher. The launcher is again composed of electrical and mechanical integration. Then, the missile integration to the launcher and third, is the aerodynamic studies. We have completed the electrical and mechanical integration of launcher with the aircraft. This work has been entirely done by BrahMos Aerospace. We designed the launcher, we integrated the launcher to the aircraft. We have completed the Computational Flow Dynamics analysis, wind tunnel testing for the aircraft, and launcher with the aircraft. Then missile separation from the aircraft. This work has been successfully done by NAL, Bangalore.
Apart from this, we completed ground vibration test of the aircraft at HAL Nasik. All of this has given a lot of confidence to us. Now we have flown the launcher also along with the aircraft. We are now implementing the engineering studies to integrate the missile with the launcher and the aircraft. By March-end it will be over. We will go for the instrumented missile flight test to measure various parameters that the missile and the aircraft will be facing while flying.

I hope to complete that work by April 2016. Then, we will go for drop test, when a missile model will be dropped from the aircraft and then, we will go for the real launch of the actual missile from the aircraft and that will be by end-2016. The second aircraft is getting modified. As per the contract, we have to demonstrate the flight test from both the aircraft, then only the users will accept the flight test. It is going to be a great achievement for aviation scientists and missile engineers. We have never done such a test for such a huge, heavy missile. That will give a lot of satisfaction and confidence to missile technologists, not only in India but all over the world. The launcher that we have designed is the biggest in the world.

Once you achieve all these, then would the entire fleet of Sukhois in the Indian Air Force be modified and armed with BRAHMOS? What is the requirement for the air-launched BRAHMOS that has been projected by the Air Force? What will be the difference in the weight of the conventional BRAHMOS and the air-launched version?

It is not like this. The users have their own strategy to fit the missiles and it is for them to decide. We will provide them the missiles, the launchers and modification strategy and it is for them to decide. The requirement of the air-launched BRAHMOS will certainly be in large numbers. Because, such kind of efforts need to be economical. The warhead will be the same, but while the original BRAHMOS is about 2,900-kg, the air-launched version will be about 400-kg less, because of some engineering work.

There were a lot of interest shown by some friendly nations for BRAHMOS and of course, Russia holds the export control for BRAHMOS? So, are there any talks for exporting of the BRAHMOS?

We need support and approval of both the Governments for any export of BRAHMOS. There is an enabling provision already existing in the inter-governmental agreement. As such, there is no legal problem created by either of the partners. We have been working for more than a decade now and we have had no problems either from India or from Russia. It will happen with mutual consent. BrahMos Aerospace, being a defence engineering company, will provide competence and capability to both the Governments.

We have no problem in upscaling our production. We can do that, because we have excellent supply chain with vendors. Every year, the production number also varies. It is for the Governments of India and Russia to decide to whom to export, in how many quantities. We participate in so many exhibitions all over the world and we receive so many delegations from various countries. They show a lot of interest and show a lot of willingness looking at the capability of our weapon. We are ready to meet this challenge of export. It is for both the Governments to decide on whom to supply and how to supply. It is about defence diplomacy policy.

What's your agenda for the future of BRAHMOS within the intergovernmental agreement? You have orders till 2027 and work till 2036. What's the future and how would you keep BrahMos Aerospace relevant beyond that?

The first thing, the order is not going to be stopped at fourth regiment. There will be orders for fifth and sixth regiment also. We know it very well. The second thing is ships would be manufactured and the country would be needing anti-ship missiles. So we would be there. Third, there is also going to be the issue of life-extension of the missile systems that will keep us very busy. Fourth is product support. This is a state-of-the-art missile and it would call for a lot of product support. We would be there to provide that support not only for 10 years of the life of the missile -- in some countries, the missile life is 25 to 30 years.

Initially, we are offering 10 years and beyond that there will be life extension too. As we discussed earlier, we would like to expand our business from subsonic to hypersonic, to be present in all the domains of speed. That also will give us a lot of business. Technologies are evolving. There are many things we are not able to foresee or predict. So let us wait for a few years. As things evolve, BrahMos being a hi-tech engineering company would be surviving for several decades. BRAHMOS is a very contemporary missile.

As of today, we don't see anybody is able to come out with a supersonic engine for another five to 10 years. This engine is a result of engineering research during Soviet Union times. The Soviets have never hesitated in investing in defence. Even today, the USA is still working with a sub-sonic cruise missile. They are putting a solid rocket motor in the terminal stage or booster stage to increase the range or capability. Whereas, ours is a supersonic ramjet. Nobody is having this. Chinese are claiming to have it, but we know that they are not going to have it for another five to seven years. We will continue to have it.

Again in hypersonic capability, we will be leading in that front too. So we will be leading in that technology for another 20 years. And hypersonic has no limit. We can go up to seven Mach or nine Mach or eleven Mach. There will be discovery of new material, even new engineering solutions would be available and we may expand to any area. We may expand to UAV also. As of now there is no business plan, but what I am trying to tell you is that we can think of developing a hypersonic UAV too.

In fact, Dr. Kalam has given us a dream which will answer your question. Dr. Kalam always told us that we should design, develop and produce a missile that will be long-range, re-usable, hypersonic and cost-effective solution to deliver a warhead anywhere in the world. This is a dream and when we move towards this dream, there are going to be thousands of engineering challenges. But, that would only provide us business and that would answer your question.

The hypersonic UAVs are actually UCAVs.

They are, you can say, but they are not re-usable. We are talking about merging of technologies such as missiles and UAVs. UCAVs are weaponized small aircraft. Sometimes, UCAVs are re-usable and sometimes they are not.

We are marrying hypersonic technologies with UAVs or UCAVs, so they can escape if they come under attack?

Yes, possible.

Have you dialogued with the Russians on using your capability in the unmanned category? Is there a spin-off possible?

No, we have not. The spin-off possibility is there. But we have not talked or put it in writing or even done any analysis. It makes sense and it is a natural progression. This is one of the most successful JVs that the government of India wants to replicate in several 'Make in India' programs. This means we are successful. We feel that we are on the right path. If the program is replicated, then there will be an opportunity to expand under the existing format itself.

What about the mini-BRAHMOS?

Concept-wise, it is very attractive. But, so many developments are taking place and hence we are not able to come up with a definitive plan. It is much smaller in size and range is quite good and it can be launched from several platforms. An aircraft can carry two or three BRAHMOS-Mini. It can go into torpedo tubes and smaller ships can use them too. Even a missile boat can carry it. It is miniaturization of the missile and its range will not be affected and it will go the full distance in the ideal trajectory. But in other trajectories, it may reduce. We have not started the programme and it is too early to discuss it. But it is one of the business prospects.

That Brahmos-M sounds rather interesting... shorter range but much smaller and lighter and likely able to be carried in much larger numbers.

From memory it was faster too at high altitude... sort of a missile between the Kh-31 and the Yakhont in performance... very interesting.

7 April 2016 DMITRY SIKORSKI, FBA EKONOMIKA SEGODNYA

Russia, which already has the Oniks missile system, is unsure whether it will induct the BrahMos Block III cruise missile. But given that it has opted to buy the Su-MKI, designed for India, it is likely it will also buy the BrahMos to equip the fighter aircraft.

The Indian Army has the cruise missile Brahmos Block-III, one of the most lethal weapons systems that currently exist in the world, the publication ‘Defence News’ writes. This cruise missile is capable of flights at supersonic speeds, making it hard for enemy radar to track, as well as being practically invulnerable to modern anti-missile and air defence systems.

Brahmos Block-III is a joint Russian-Indian project, which is based on the P-800 Oniks missile, which is exported under the name ‘Yakhont’. This, however, has not stopped the specialists at ‘Defence News’ from comparing it with its Chinese analogue; the DF-21; and finding major advantages in the Russian-Indian missile.

The Brahmos Block-III is superior to the DF-21 in all respects, and is likely to soon capture the global market, say experts. Both these missiles are designed as destroyers of ships, with the Chinese DF-21 often being called the “killer of aircraft carriers”.

Pyotr Topychkanov, senior researcher at the Safety Centre of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations RAS, said there is an important point in making such comparisons; the DF-21 project has gone much further, in terms of development, in contrast to the Brahmos Block-III, which is still in the prototype stage.

“Accordingly, it is not yet clear when, and in what form, the Brahmos Block-III will be placed into service. Perhaps, according to the announced specifications, it really is superior to the DF-21, but how this project will finally evolve in real terms is difficult to say, and thus comparing these two missiles is very difficult,” said Topychkanov.

The expert notes that the Brahmos is a joint-venture project between Russia and India, and the Indians, according to the documents that form the core of this project cannot go it alone on this missile, including in the development of any or all of its components.

“From this perspective, we cannot say that the Indians are venturing out on their own, and creating their own missile,” said Topychkanov.

The Indians are calculating, the expert notes, that the Brahmos Block-III missile will become one of their best-selling exports.

“At the same time, according to the original agreement signed between Russia and India, it was assumed that this rocket would be purchased not only by India, but also by Russia. However, a while ago, Moscow began rethinking this decision, as Russia has its own Oniks system, and this has become a stumbling block in the path of manufacturing and selling of the Brahmos Block-III missiles on the world arms market.”

There is another precedent that may be recalled; the multi-functional fighter Su-30MKI. It was designed exclusively for Indian military requirements, but then, there was a decision to also purchase it for the needs of Russia’s Aerospace Defence Forces.

The same fate probably awaits the Brahmos Block-III, especially since it is closely connected with the Su-30MKI project.

“Now that Russia has decided to buy the Su-30MKI aircraft, the Brahmos missiles have a good chance of coming into service with the Russian Armed Forces. The fact is that this year, they are planning to carry out the first live testing of the Brahmos air-based missiles that were designed just for the Su-30MKI fighter jets. So this project is being implemented, in one way or another, in the interests of the armed forces of both India and Russia,” said Topychkanov.


Based, therefore, on the fact that Russia is going to buy the Su-30MKI, according to Topychkanov, it may be easily concluded that Moscow is considering arming these aircraft with the Brahmos Block-III missiles.

This project again displays how this military cooperation with India is beneficial also for Russia, in the case of both the Su-30MKI, and Brahmos-Block-III.

In addition, we must not forget about the export version of the T-50 platform; the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA fighter jet) which, in the coming years, will be developed for the needs of the Indian Air Force.

This project will yield for Russia a new version of the fifth-generation fighter, which will be significantly different from the aircraft which will enter into service in the Russian armed forces this year.

https://in.rbth.com/economics/defence/2016/04/07/india-to-build-brahmos-3-for-russia_582669

An Asian-Pacific country will sign a contract on the delivery of Russian-Indian BrahMos cruise missiles this year.


The first export contract on delivering Russian-Indian BrahMos cruise missiles to a country in the Asian-Pacific Region will be signed by the end of 2016, BrahMos Aerospace spokesman Praveen Pathak said Wednesday.

“It’s too early to be specific since negotiations are continuing, but we plan that by the end this year there will be one solid contract,” Pathak told RIA Novosti in an interview.

He added that the Asian-Pacific nation would be a friendly nation that neither Russia nor India has any conflicts with

The first trials of the Russian-Indian BrahMos cruise missiles on Russian Su-30 Flanker C multirole fighter jets will begin in one or two months and end in November-December 2016, Praveen Pathak said.

"Ground tests of the aircraft missile have ended, now we're planning to place it on an Su-30 and in the next month or two there will be trial launches," Pathak told RIA Novosti.

He said that a life-sized rocket mock-up would be initially used in the tests, and then proceed with an actual BrahMos cruise missile.

“We hope that all of the tests will be complete in November-December,” Pathak added.

https://in.rbth.com/economics/defence/2016/04/20/first-export-contract-for-brahmos-missiles-to-be-signed-in-2016_586423

Demonstration flight of the Indian Su-30MKI with BrahMos missile air version





http://bmpd.livejournal.com/1982205.html

Bengaluru, June 25: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) said on Saturday that 40 frontline fighter Sukhoi would be modified to integrate the air version of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos.

HAL chairman T S Raju said that Saturday's successful demonstration flight of Sukhoi with BrahMos missile in a 'Mass Dimensional' profile is a perfect example of Make in India.

"It's an engineering marvel in the aviation history of India. It proves that when all agencies come together with one mission, there is nothing
impossible," says Raju.

HAL said its Nashik Division took up the challenge of creating all necessary data without any assistance from the Original Equipment Manufacturer - the Irkut Corporation.

"It is not the techno-economics of the project, but HAL's commitment to self-reliance which made HAL to sign the contract with BrahMos Aerospace in 2014 for modification of two Su30 MKI aircraft for integration of BrahMos missile," says Raju.

HAL handed over the first modified Sukhoi to the Indian Air Force during Aero India 2015. Read More: Sukhoi does demo flight with BrahMos missile

Earlier HAL officials had earlier told OneIndia that the integrating the missile was a challenging task for Nasik Division, owing to the limited design data of Su-30 MkI available with them. The home-grown launcher designed and developed by BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited was used during today's mission.

Read more at: http://www.oneindia.com/india/40-sukhois-be-modified-integrate-brahmos-hal-2137113.html

India has signalled its intent to strike enemy targets with devastating force early on in a conflict. On June 25 a modified Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft carried a Brahmos-A (Air) supersonic cruise missile aloft for the first time, marking an important milestone in the development of the missile ahead of further flights and firing tests.

The twin-seat multirole fighter took off from the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd airport in Bengaluru and conducted a 45 minute sortie with the missile attached to its underbelly. Developed jointly by India's Defence Research & Development Organisation and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, Brahmos-A is a modified variant of its basic configuration. "It features several design refinements, which include a lighter propulsion system (reduced to 2,500 kg from 3,000 kg) as well as redesigned fins and nose cap," reports Janes Defence Weekly.

Strategic strike force

In September 2010 India’s newly constituted tri-services Strategic Forces Command (SFC) submitted a proposal to the Defence Ministry for setting up two dedicated squadrons of aircraft comprising 40 Su-30MKI air dominance fighters. The task of this “mini air force” is to deliver nuclear weapons.

The picture became clearer in October 2012 when the Cabinet Committee on Security green lighted a programme to carry out structural and software modifications on 42 Su-30MKIs and acquire 216 air-launched Brahmos missiles. Until then, the Brahmos – the product of an India-Russia joint venture – was for exclusive use by the Navy.

In March 2015 the SFC received the first of these 42 Sukhois equipped with the air launched version of the supersonic BrahMos. This is the first time that the SFC, which at present depends on the Indian Air Force (IAF) for delivering nuclear weapons under its command, is acquiring its own aerial assets.

Currently, India’s nuclear delivery system is based on land-based ballistic missiles such as the Agni and Prithvi plus the IAF’s nuclear-capable Mirage 2000, Su-30 MKI and Jaguar fighter-bombers. The final element of the nuclear triad, submarine-launched ballistic missile, is still being tested.

Individually, the Su-30 and Brahmos are powerful weapons. But when the world’s most capable fourth generation fighter is armed with a uniquely destructive cruise missile, together they are a dramatic force multiplier.

The BrahMos’ maximum speed of 3700 km per hour speed – literally faster than a bullet – means it hits the target with a huge amount of kinetic energy. In tests, the BrahMos has often cut warships in half and reduced ground targets to smithereens. The Sukhoi’s blistering speed will add extra launch momentum to the missile, plus the aircraft’s ability to penetrate hardened air defences means there is a greater chance for the pilot to deliver the missile on to its designated targets.

Likely targets

Considering that India’s primary enemy is Pakistan and that country’s chief backer is China, against which India has fought two conflicts – losing in 1962 and winning in 1967 – these two countries are the obvious targets.

Against Pakistan, the targets are obvious. A two-squadron attack using most of the SFC’s air assets can within minutes utterly cripple the country’s command and control centres; nuclear power plants, including the Kahuta ‘Death Star’ where the majority of the “Islamic” bombs are manufactured; the Sargodha Central Ammunition Depot west of Lahore where these warheads are stored; ballistic missile bases in Gujranwala, Okara, Multan, Jhang and Dera Nawab Shah; Pakistani Army Corp headquarters in Rawalpindi; the Karachi Port, Pakistani’s only major harbour and its Naval HQ; and ordinance factories that manufacture tanks and fighter aircraft.

The supersonic Brahmos armed with a conventional warhead can theoretically penetrate hardened command, control and communication centres. However, if required the missile’s conventional warhead can be replaced with miniaturised nukes. A pre-emptive nuclear strike will therefore ensure that Pakistan’s offensive capability is effectively neutralised and it is never again a threat to India.

Against China, the Sukhoi-Brahmos one-two punch seems counter-intuitive as Chinese targets are located deep inland or on the coast. However, the Su-30MKI has a maximum range of 3000 km (extendable to 8000 km with in-flight refuelling). Now add the Brahmos’s 300 km reach and India can hit targets 3300 km inside China.

Why the Sukhoi-BrahMos option?

The Su-30MKI is an obvious choice. The SFC does not want untested fighters but the ones which can be relied upon to deliver nuclear-tipped missiles. The aircraft has a titanium airframe strong enough to fly a high-speed terrain following profile. The batch of 42 Sukhois will also have hardened electronic circuitry to shield them from the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear blast.

Having a dedicated aircraft for the nuclear attack role offers India’s war planners strategic flexibility and increases the odds of success. Because ballistic missiles are used only as a weapon of last resort, they cannot really be deployed at will. Once released, they cannot be recalled and if shot down are not easily replaced.

Fighter aircraft, on the other hand, can perform repeated sorties and be directed to bomb targets as they move. For instance, if Pakistan moves it warheads out of Sargodha depot, which is presumably under constant watch by Indian satellites, the Sukhois can be vectored against a column of Pakistani trucks transporting their nuclear cargo.

The SFC’s mini air force of 42 Sukhois can also launch their missiles against Pakistani targets from within Indian airspace or while flying over international waters, thereby complicating the enemy’s defences. It is a lot easier for India to destroy Pakistani war fighting capability because not only is Pakistan relatively smaller but it has also concentrated its defences in one province, Punjab.

Because heavy modifications were necessary for integrating such a heavy missile onto the Su-30MKI, initially it seemed to make little sense to deploy a single missile. Aviation Week reports that initially even Sukhoi was reluctant to go along. That prompted HAL to go solo, but Aviation Week says Sukhoi eventually came on board, in 2011. The Russian side provided HAL with technical consultancy especially for the modifications to the fuselage in order to accommodate the 9-metre-long missile.

“Work is also underway on a modified lighter and smaller-diameter version of the BrahMos for deployment on the Indian navy's MiG-29K and, potentially, the Dassault Rafale,” says Aviation Week.

And signalling the country’s immunity from western sanctions, DRDO scientists say the 300 km cap on the missile’s range will be removed. The next generation Brahmos is likely to be a longer range weapon. And with the planned increased in speed, the missile will have considerably enhanced kinetic energy despite its smaller size optimised for relatively smaller aircraft such as the MiG-29.

That’s really bad news if you are in the Sukhoi-BrahMos crosshairs.

http://in.rbth.com/blogs/2015/04/20/why_the_brahmos_armed_sukhoi_is_bad_news_for_indias_enemies_42687