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Russian-Indian
JV to produce Brahmos
missiles
TIRUCHIRAPALLI -
Commercial production of the 'Brahmos' supersonic
anti-ship cruise missile system will commence in 2004,
said Dr A Sivathanu Pillai, CEO of Brahmos, the joint
venture of Russia and India that will coordinate vendor
development for the missile system.
The Brahmos,
also known as the PJ-10 missile, was designed for high
accuracy and a range of 280 kilometers (174 miles),
which puts it squarely between the capabilities of
India's other sea-based missiles: the ship-based
250-km-range Prithvi and the submarine-based
300-km-range Klub missile system (which is also being
fitted on the Talwar class ships being acquired from
Russia).
The Brahmos, primarily a sea-based
weapon, can be launched from ship, submarine, aircraft
or land; following its development, it will be also used
by the defense forces of Russia, India's largest
military supplier.
Pillai said the first
successful test-firing of the Brahmos had taken place in
June 2001, and the missile was again test-fired from a
ship-launch configuration on April 28, 2002. With that
successful test, the missile was ready to go into
production, and Pillai said industries in both India and
Russia are gearing up for serial production, with many
of the software systems, components and spares being
supplied by private entrepreneurs in both countries.
So far Brahmos, the joint venture, has set up
branch offices in Hyderabad and Moscow for vendor
development activities, and the company plans to start
commercial production by 2004, Pillai said. Countries
like Malaysia, South Africa and many other countries
have evinced interest to participate in the program.
Pillai, who also heads India's defense research
organizations, said India's tank-busting "Nag" (Cobra)
missile was in its final stage of development, while the
anti-aircraft "Akash" and multi-purpose "Trishul"
missiles were being flight tested.
Asked about
the future developments, Pillai mentioned the
Hydersponic multi-purpose flight system, useable for both
passenger and missile-launch purposes, as well as
research into re-usable missile systems.
(Asia Pulse/Asia
Times Online)
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