‘BrahMos + Sukhoi Su-30’ Combo Makes Air Force Potent, Says Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari

The BrahMos supersonic missile has ‘galvanised and greatly enhanced’ the firepower of the Indian Air Force and bolstered the nation’s ability to defend itself in any conflict, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said Wednesday.

The Air Chief hailed the potent combination of a BrahMoS missle on the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets and said smaller versions of the next-generation BrahMos missiles are being developed for fitment to other combat aircraft.

“The BrahMos supersonic missile has really galvanised the way (in which) we will equip ourselves with precision firepower in the coming years. Seeing conflicts that are happening across the globe, the importance of precision, long-range firepower can’t be underscored.”

“The combination of BrahMos on the Sukhoi Su-30 has really given us tremendous capability that has enhanced our firepower. It has made the deterrence value of the Indian Air Force go up by leaps and bounds,” the head of the country’s air force told news agency ANI.

“As the situation unfolded in Northern borders three years ago, we realised the potent weapon can be used very effectively for land attacks…”

“In (the) future, next-generation BrahMos or a small version can be fitted onto smaller platforms, like MiG-29, Mirage 2000 or even the LCA (Light Combat Aircraft),” he added.

What is the BrahMos missile?

The BrahMos is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first; this separates after allowing the weapon to reach supersonic speeds. The second stage, or the liquid ramjet, then takes the missile close to speeds of Mach 3, or over 3,700 km per hour.

The BrahMos has a range of 290 km but, crucially, with supersonic speeds all through the flight time, it has ‘lower dispersion of targets, quicker engagement time and non-interception by any known weapon system in the world’, according to its developers.

The BrahMos carries a conventional warhead weighing 200 to 300 kg and its cruising altitude is 15 km, with a terminal altitude as low as 10 metres.

There are three versions – one used each by the Navy, the Air Force and the Army.

The Navy’s BrahMos order

In March, the Navy said it was going to acquire over 200 BrahMos missiles. Senior defence officials told ANI the proposal to acquire these missiles is likely to be cleared very soon.

The BrahMos-Pakistan incident

Meanwhile, on Tuesday the government told the Delhi High Court the accidental firing of a BrahMos missile into Pakistan last year had cost the state exchequer ₹24 crore.