Atul Dinkar Rane
CEO & MD, BrahMos Aerospace
BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPOM, manufactures the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile. Capable of speeds up to 2.8 Mach, the BrahMos missile can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms. India’s successful testing and integration of the BrahMos system have significantly enhanced its defence capabilities. “The missile, infused with cutting-edge technologies, has incorporated newer, deadlier capabilities over the years to fortify India’s defence and security architecture at a time of rising regional and global tensions,” said Atul Dinkar Rane, CEO & MD, BrahMos Aerospace. In an interview with Aeromag, Rane discusses the missile’s advanced features, its role in defence and deterrence, contribution to the Make in India initiative, strategic significance, its presence at ADAS 2024 etc.
What is the significance of the $375-million deal to supply BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines, and how does it reflect India’s defence export strategy?
The BRAHMOS export deal with the Republic of Philippines can be termed as a ‘historic breakthrough’ not just in the arena of defence trade between New Delhi and Manila, but in the entire spectrum of security and strategic ties between the two nations.
This landmark deal has reinvigorated bilateral defence engagements between India and the Philippines who have identified each other as “important strategic partners”. We signed this landmark export deal in January 2022 which made the Philippines the first esteemed foreign customer nation of BrahMos Aerospace.
This export breakthrough has positioned BRAHMOS as India’s first full-fledged weapon system which is being delivered to a third-party friendly responsible nation. India’s defence export strategy has evolved with this important deal wherein we have transitioned from ‘Make-In-India’ programme to ‘Make-for-the-World’ realm.
What role does the BRAHMOS missile play in providing credible defence and deterrent capabilities for India?
Being a state-of-the-art ‘universal’ system, supersonic BRAHMOS remains India’s frontline tactical weapon which has been actively deployed across national frontiers to maintain and strengthen our credible defence and deterrence posture. The missile, infused with cutting-edge technologies, has incorporated newer, deadlier capabilities over the years to fortify India’s defence and security architecture at a time of rising regional and global tensions.
The weapon with its ‘across-the-spectrum’ combat capability has become an indispensable asset to undertake network-centric warfare operations, thus fostering jointness, integration and synergy among the Tri-Services of the nation.
In what ways does the BRAHMOS missile symbolize India’s pursuit of self-reliance and strategic autonomy in the defence sector?
BRAHMOS is the first such project in the history of Indian missiles programme which was conceived with an intent to design and develop a powerful precision strike system no nation in the world possessed until then. The scientific and technological expertise from India and Russia shaped BRAHMOS as world’s fastest and deadliest tactical weapon. The versatile missile has continued to evolve by incorporating many advanced features to improve its superlative performance parameters.
Today, BrahMos Aerospace has strongly positioned itself as a globally reckoned entity in the field of precision engineering and high-end defence & aerospace manufacturing which is a testament that India has come a long way in its pursuit of achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing. As a flagbearer of ‘Make-In-India’ programme, supersonic BRAHMOS has ensured India’s strategic autonomy in the domain of modern precision weaponry.
How does India plan to increase the indigenously manufactured component of the BRAHMOS missile from 76% to 85%, and what steps are being taken to reach 100% indigenisation by 2026?
We have achieved remarkable results in our indigenisation drive in past few years. In close coordination with DRDO and with all our industry partners including MSMEs, we have significantly increased the indigenisation level in BRAHMOS. Some of the indigenised technologies and components such as the seeker, booster, airframe and many other critical sub-systems are now being serially produced by our industry partners.
So, essentially by matching our development rates with the production orders, we can say that we have raised the level of indigenisation to over 80%. Achieving 100% indigenisation is certainly our target, however a definite timeline for the same cannot be set at this stage due to supply-chain constrains and cost related issues.
Could you elaborate on the advanced features expected in the BRAHMOS NG (Next Generation), and how it aims to improve upon the current platform?
BRAHMOS-NG has been conceptualised as a smaller, lighter, smarter derivative of existing BRAHMOS. This new weapon would feature smart guidance, avionics, next-gen stealth among other tech and design advancements.
Owing to its reduced size and weight, BRAHMOS-NG would be deployed on many modern military platforms (ground, ship, underwater, air) in more numbers. This smart and compact missile promises to be a revolutionary inclusion in the battlefields of tomorrow.
Given the strong interest in the BRAHMOS missile from both domestic and international buyers, how could the ‘Made in India’ BRAHMOS contribute to India’s emergence as a leading defence supplier in Asia?
BRAHMOS has all the potential to lead and accelerate India’s defence export ambitions, not just in Asia but across other continents as well.
We have already carved our export footprint by getting the multi-million-dollar order from the Philippines.
We are buoyed by all the domestic orders placed by the Indian Armed Forces as well. So, we are in a much stronger position today to get more and more number of orders for our weapon system in the international market and we have expedited our efforts in this regard.
Can you share details about BrahMos’ presence at ADAS 2024 and what are your expectations for the event?
BrahMos Aerospace will be present in full strength at ADAS 2024, displaying all variants of supersonic BRAHMOS at the exposition.
We look forward to meeting high-level defence officials and military delegates from different countries in the region and beyond to hold B2B/ B2C exchanges with them during the show. ADAS 2024 will provide us an excellent forum to showcase BRAHMOS to all our potential buyers and apprise them of the missile’s advanced capabilities.
