BrahMos: Brilliance Par Excellence!
The world has taken note of India’s BrahMos missiles that destroyed terror bases in Pakistan, many countries now want to acquire it for their safety
India’s indigenously-made BrahMos missile that demolished Pakistan terror bases during Operation Sindoor has garnered significant attention from the international community. BrahMos, a supersonic cruise missile developed through a joint venture between India and Russia proved its mettle in the recent Indo-Pak conflict. BrahMos gave a befitting reply to Chinese and Pak made weapons. The end result: a complete smash down of enemy targets!
A Unique Proposition
The name, BrahMos is derived from India’s Brahmaputra-river (Brah) and Russia’s Moskva River (Mos). Some defence experts have called BrahMos, the world’s most advanced defence systems. No wonder countries like Vietnam, Brazil, Philippines, UAE, Venezuela etc now want to acquire the BrahMos missile from India to safeguard their borders. Lt Gen KJS Dhillon, PVSM, UYSM, YSM, VSM (Retd) and Former GOC 15 Corps & Dir Gen Defence Intelligence Agency says, “BrahMos is the fastest cruise missile in the world. It travels at nearly three times the speed of sound (2.8 Mach) making it extremely difficult to be tracked and intercepted.”
All-In-One
BrahMos Missile is all about supersonic speed, versatility and precision. The BrahMos can be launched not just from land but also from sea and air platforms. It can carry warheads weighing up to 300 kg, and precisely strike targets at a range of 290 km.
Sharing insights into the recent India, Pakistan conflict, Lt Gen KJS Dhillon says, “BrahMos has been used with great precision to cause considerable damage to a variety of enemy targets as per video evidence shared by the officials.”
What adds to its accuracy is the Internal Navigation System (INS) for mid-course guidance and terminal guidance achieved by an active radar seeking system. Lt Gen KJS Dhillon explains how the BrahMos comes across as a formidable deterrent. He says, “It’s formidable owing to its capabilities and uniqueness as compared to most of the other systems in its category.”
An example here would be the Tomahawk cruise missile that was developed by the USA. Gen Dhillon opines that the Tomahawk is much slower in speed. Major Gen (Dr) Yash Mor, an awardee of the Sena medal and Army Chief Commendation Card says, “The joint venture with Russia changed the entire dynamics of this weapon system, especially in terms of its versatility and precision.”
Major Gen Yash Mor explains how the BrahMos is a flexible and powerful creation. He says, “The BrahMos can be fired from the land, air to surface locations or even ship to surface locations, giving it an edge over other defence systems.”
Global Budding Partner
Amidst all the talks of the BrahMos, what proved as a cherry to the cake was an American urban Warfare expert’s comments in recent times. The warfare expert stated that India had demonstrated both offensive and defensive superiority with the BrahMos in the Indo-Pak conflict.
What’s clear is this: India is no longer a country dependent on other countries when it comes to matters of defence. Major Gen Yash says, “In terms of defence diplomacy, the Government has been creating defence industry corridors.”
Good places to look at would be the ones created in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Major Gen Yash adds, “Now with the BrahMos, India can also become a reliable and strong supplier to friendly foreign countries.”
The BrahMmos has definitely opened up doors for joint collaborations with the world at large. Major Gen Yash even shares about how India holds more of a say in its collaboration with Russia. He explains, “It’s an inter-governmental agreement where India holds 50.5% shares and Russia 49.5% which means the control lies with us.”
Flexibility & Versatility
“BrahMos is such a brilliant weapon system, the best part of the collaboration is the technology is taken from Russia and created in India,” says Captain Yashika Hatwal Tyagi, a Kargil War Veteran and Military Inspired Leadership Coach. Given India’s varied terrain in terms of oceans, high altitudes, and rainforests around, weapon systems created must match such conditions.
Captain Yashika says, “Now that the BrahMos is made in India, it blends in with our unique requirements.” Adding that there’s been nothing like a BrahMos till date. Captain Yashika says, “This is the biggest Brahmastra that we have got, a huge breakthrough in defence systems!” From a place of being dependent on other countries (initially) for weapon systems to creating giant missiles, India has marched a long way. Captain Yashika opines that with the BrahMos it's more about being ‘self-reliant’ today. An important thing to note here would be that missiles are produced and maintained differently. Major Gen Yash says, “Missiles have a longer shelf life, they have to be stored differently in air condition silos and underground bunkers with repeated tests being done on their functionalities.” Suggesting that the cost factor tunes in more with the maintenance than mere manufacturing.
The Way Ahead
While the BrahMos has strengthened India’s role in defence diplomacy corridors, it has also added a definite element of national pride in citizens.
An innate sense of being self-reliant is a ringing tone in all Indian hearts far and wide. It’s not just precision and supersonic speed that this missile brings to the table. It’s symbolic of India’s calibre in terms of both, defence technology and bilateral cooperation with the world at large!
