Latest news with #BrahMos'
Economic Times
2 days ago
- Science
- Economic Times
India testing a missile that flies at eight times the speed of sound, hits targets 1,500 km away
Hypersonic capabilities mark a strategic leap Designed for stealth, precision, and flexibility Live Events Built for extreme conditions (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel India has reportedly tested a new hypersonic missile that can travel at eight times the speed of sound and strike targets as far as 1,500 kilometres away. The Extended Trajectory Long Duration Hypersonic Cruise Missile ( ET-LDHCM ), developed under the Defence Research and Development Organisation 's (DRDO) Project Vishnu , significantly outpaces and outdistances the current BrahMos cruise test comes amid growing global tensions, including the Israel-Iran conflict and worsening India-Pakistan relations. With Turkey increasingly aligning with Pakistan, India is accelerating its defence modernisation. This includes upgrades across the missile programme, such as BrahMos, Agni-5, and Akash ET-LDHCM is powered by a scramjet engine that uses air-breathing propulsion, relying on atmospheric oxygen rather than a traditional rotating compressor. This allows the missile to reach Mach 8, or roughly 11,000 km/h, compared to BrahMos' Mach 3 speed of about 3,675 km/ range also marks a leap from BrahMos' original 290 km, later extended to around 450 km, to a new capability of 1,500 km. This combination of speed and extended reach enhances India's strategic strike missile can carry a payload of 1,000 to 2,000 kilograms and is designed to deliver both conventional and nuclear warheads. Its low-altitude flight capability helps it avoid radar detection, while its high targeting precision allows it to strike critical infrastructure in difficult ET-LDHCM can be launched from land, sea, or air platforms. Its ability to alter its path mid-flight gives it adaptability in dynamic battlefield missile is engineered to handle extreme thermal stress, with performance stability maintained at temperatures up to 2,000°C during hypersonic travel. This capability is critical for sustained speed and present, only Russia, the United States, and China have operational hypersonic cruise missile technology . If India's ET-LDHCM test proves successful, it would join this small group of nations with indigenous hypersonic aim with the ET-LDHCM is to strengthen its deterrence strategy, particularly in relation to Pakistan, while countering China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
India.com
5 days ago
- Science
- India.com
India tests new multi-feature hypersonic missile that can fly at incredible speed of..., name is...
(Representational image/AP) New Delhi: India has tested a missile called ET-LDHCM. It is a new hypersonic missile that can travel at Mach 8 (9878 km/h) and strike targets 1,500 kilometres away. This new hypersonic ET-LDHCM missile has been developed by DRDO. This test is part of India's pursuit of modern and better weapons. The new missile is designed for stealth, precision, and flexibility. What's unique about this missile? The Extended Trajectory Long Duration Hypersonic Cruise Missile (ET-LDHCM) significantly outperforms and beats the BrahMos cruise missile. India has tested this missile as major conflicts are going on in the world including Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Iran conflict. Also, India and Pakistan were engaged in fierce military conflict during Operation Sindoor in which Turkey and China were on the enemy's side. Apart from this defence modernisation, India is enhancing the missile systems such as BrahMos, Agni-5, and Akash. India's hypersonic capabilities take huge stride The ET-LDHCM is powered by a scramjet engine that uses air-breathing propulsion, relying on atmospheric oxygen rather than a traditional rotating compressor. This allows the missile to reach Mach 8 (9878 km/h) compared to BrahMos' Mach 3 speed (3705 km/h). This system has a much longer range than BrahMos' 450 km. it can strike as far as 1,500 km. This combination of speed and extended reach enhances India's strategic strike range. Designed for stealth, precision, and flexibility The ET-LDHCM hypersonic missile can be launched from land, sea, and air and its ability to alter its path mid-flight gives it adaptability in dynamic battlefield conditions. It can carry a payload of 1,000 to 2,000 kilograms and is designed to deliver both conventional and nuclear warheads. Its low-altitude flight capability helps it avoid radar detection, while its high targeting precision allows it to strike critical infrastructure in difficult terrains. Designed to work in extreme conditions The missile is designed to endure extreme thermal stress, with performance stability maintained at temperatures up to 2,000°C during hypersonic travel. This capability provides sustained speed and accuracy. Currently, only Russia, the United States, and China have operational hypersonic cruise missile technology. If India's ET-LDHCM test proves successful, it would join this small and elite group of nations with indigenous hypersonic weapon systems.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
India testing a missile that flies at eight times the speed of sound, hits targets 1,500 km away
India has tested a new hypersonic missile. The missile is called ET-LDHCM. It can travel eight times the speed of sound. It can strike targets 1,500 kilometres away. The missile was developed by DRDO. This test comes amid global tensions. India is accelerating its defence modernisation. The missile is designed for stealth, precision, and flexibility. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Hypersonic capabilities mark a strategic leap Designed for stealth, precision, and flexibility Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Built for extreme conditions India has reportedly tested a new hypersonic missile that can travel at eight times the speed of sound and strike targets as far as 1,500 kilometres away. The Extended Trajectory Long Duration Hypersonic Cruise Missile ( ET-LDHCM ), developed under the Defence Research and Development Organisation 's (DRDO) Project Vishnu , significantly outpaces and outdistances the current BrahMos cruise test comes amid growing global tensions, including the Israel-Iran conflict and worsening India-Pakistan relations. With Turkey increasingly aligning with Pakistan, India is accelerating its defence modernisation. This includes upgrades across the missile programme, such as BrahMos, Agni-5, and Akash ET-LDHCM is powered by a scramjet engine that uses air-breathing propulsion, relying on atmospheric oxygen rather than a traditional rotating compressor. This allows the missile to reach Mach 8, or roughly 11,000 km/h, compared to BrahMos' Mach 3 speed of about 3,675 km/ range also marks a leap from BrahMos' original 290 km, later extended to around 450 km, to a new capability of 1,500 km. This combination of speed and extended reach enhances India's strategic strike missile can carry a payload of 1,000 to 2,000 kilograms and is designed to deliver both conventional and nuclear warheads. Its low-altitude flight capability helps it avoid radar detection, while its high targeting precision allows it to strike critical infrastructure in difficult ET-LDHCM can be launched from land, sea, or air platforms. Its ability to alter its path mid-flight gives it adaptability in dynamic battlefield missile is engineered to handle extreme thermal stress, with performance stability maintained at temperatures up to 2,000°C during hypersonic travel. This capability is critical for sustained speed and present, only Russia, the United States, and China have operational hypersonic cruise missile technology . If India's ET-LDHCM test proves successful, it would join this small group of nations with indigenous hypersonic aim with the ET-LDHCM is to strengthen its deterrence strategy, particularly in relation to Pakistan, while countering China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
NDTV
30-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"It's A Hittile": BrahMos Ex-Chief On Missile's Journey, Strength And Future
New Delhi: The world's fastest supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, showcased "India's military might" during Operation Sindoor after it struck Pakistan's military infrastructure during the 100-hour battle, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the missile gave Pakistan "sleepless nights" during the operation. From its inception in 1998, when India and Russia signed an agreement, paving the way for the formation of BrahMos Aerospace, to the missile's first combat use in 2025, BrahMos has evolved over the last two decades. Atul D Rane, former Director General, BrahMos Aerospace, spoke to NDTV, sharing insights on BrahMos' path to indigenisation, what makes it difficult to intercept, its integration with Su-30MK, becoming a "universal missile" and the future of the missile. Path To Indigenisation "When BrahMos was conceived, we used a baseline principle that we would work on one of the Russian engines. We started with about 7 per cent of the missiles being indigenous and quickly upped it to about 15 per cent. But after that, it was a process of the Indian industries picking up production and indigenizing stuff, which was manufactured in Russia. "Slowly, over the years, the indigenous content has risen, with various components coming in, and the Indian defence industry has done a commendable job," Mr Rane said. "Today, we are sitting at close to 84 per what is flying right now is only about 74 to 75 per cent, because it takes some time before the indigenized subsystem or system gets qualified to enter a combat missile," he said. BrahMos - Not A Missile But A Hittile BrahMos is the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile, meaning it can travel faster than the speed of sound. BrahMos can hit targets 400 kilometres away and travel at Mach 3 (Three times the speed of sound). Mr Rane said speed is a big factor that makes it difficult to intercept. "Speed plays the maximum factor. It's fast. It's hugely fast. We have been working on many improvements over the years. And the thing is, it's a very slip missile compared to what it does. So, the radar cross section is also fairly low. High-speed, Low Radar Cross-Section (RCS), what more do you want?" Firing of ship-launched BrahMos High speed and low RCS make BrahMos difficult to intercept by radars, along with its high manoeuvrability, especially at high speed, but Mr Rane said we have done it. "The BrahMos has evolved into a weapon which doesn't fly like an arrow. It flies like a missile, and a missile which hits the everyone talks about a miss distance or the circular error of probability of a missile. In BrahMos, over the days, as we kept working on the missile, different tests, which we've done, the user trials, which they have been doing to learn themselves and train themselves, I have started saying that BrahMos is not a missile. It's a hittile. It hits the target it's designated to hit." The term hittile is used to describe a missile or a weapon with high accuracy and reliability in hitting the target. BrahMos works on a "fire and forget principle" with a seeker, a vital part of a missile which detects, tracks a target with accuracy. BrahMos uses an Indian seeker, but the development has taken years. Mr Rane said the "Seeker has been a bugbear for us for years. But the challenge was that it needed to be done. We started 20 years ago." "Today, it's capable of flying. It's not just the seeker integration, the accuracy of the hardware, the airframe, and then coming down to the navigation system, the tweaks we have to do to the navigation system, the onboard control, all this put together creates the accuracy of the missile," he added. Integration With Su-30MKI BrahMos is a heavy cruise missile, and integrating it with the Russian Su-30MKI multi-role fighters was a challenge, from its engineering to the high cost of getting it done outside. Mr Rane said, "Anything imported or import-substituted starts with a large cost. Yes. When the management of Brahmos Aerospace, along with DRDO, decided that the cost of trying to get it done from outside would be too much, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited also came on board. People worked tirelessly. It's not just the integration of the missile into the aircraft but also the electrical and software interfaces. The Indian Air Force chipped in because they already knew about the Su-30. An even bigger challenge was that we didn't know the Su-30 inside out. We had to create wind tunnel models. We had to create the separation studies." Test firing of BrahMos from Su-30MKI He further explained that the engineers had to factor in whether BrahMos was safe to separate from the Su-30. "The mother aircraft is much more precious than the BrahMos missile. It was a very long journey. I must say, there would have been at least 200 to 300 engineers, armed forces personnel, and HAL personnel working on this project," Mr Rane said. The heaviest weapon being carried on an aircraft is the Brahmos air version on the Su-30, the former DG of BrahMos Aerospace told NDTV. Becoming A Universal Weapon BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture between India's DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinotroyenia (NPOM), with India holding 50.5 per cent and Russia with 49.5 per cent. The first test launch of the BrahMos took place on June 12, 2001, in Odisha's Chandipur. Mr Rane said, "BrahMos was initially conceived to be only an anti-ship cruise missile, a supersonic cruise missile. But then, once it started working, it started coming out that one shouldn't just be sitting with one fantastic product. One needs to make sure it's delivered on time, which is a mantra of BrahMos to deliver things on time. We moved quickly from an anti-ship cruise missile to a land-attack missile. Once the Indian Army got in with it, they said that we would like to see some more stuff that is launching from high altitudes, having waypoints, getting over improvement has been seamless." "Today, it's a universal missile. The missiles, which are launched from the surface, are either from the Indian naval ships or from the mobile autonomous launchers which are with the Indian Army; these two missiles can be swapped without any problem. The idea was to create a universal missile. The dream is to have a cartridge, a missile filled in a canister, and you pick up that canister and put it wherever you want, and the missile can be used. Of course, with a little tweak in software," he said. The air version of BrahMos is different from the ship and mobile-launcher variant since the Su-30MKI can't carry such a heavy missile in its underbelly. Future Of BrahMos BrahMos was at the forefront of the offensive during Operation Sindoor, and it can travel at Mach 3 speeds. A hypersonic variant (speeds exceeding Mach 5) is reportedly under development, along with an extended range of the missile from the current 400. BrahMos started with a range of 290 kilometres and has evolved into being more potent than it was many years ago. Mr Rane said, "Any incremental research takes time and also, of course, money, which is being put in. The current BrahMos, in its current size and shape, has a limitation. But it's a limitation, and it can go somewhere where no one else has should see it very soon." "We could look at a smaller and potent version of BrahMos so that we could put two missiles in the underbelly of the Su-30 instead of one, and not just Sukhoi, but other aircraft as well," he said. Mr Rane shared that the design has already started, and we have already reached the point of cutting metal. We're looking at the BrahMos next generation, a smaller missile. Equally fast. Of course, lighter. So the kinetic energy when it hits will be a little different, but good enough to destroy targets. "The Tejas Mark-II, an ungraded version of the Tejas Mark 1, will carry the BrahMos-NG, one each under the wings. So two BrahMos on each Tejas and possibly a full-scale large BrahMos under the belly of the Su-30 and two NGs under the wings of the Su-30," Mr Rane said. India has also delivered the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines. Several Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, and Middle Eastern nations have also reportedly expressed interest in the missile systems.
News18
30-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
How Yogi's UP Became New Home Of BrahMos Missiles That Destroyed 11 Pakistani Airbases
Last Updated: It was Yogi Adityanath, during the recent inauguration of the BrahMos Aerospace facility in Lucknow, who confirmed the use of the missile in India's retaliatory strikes. The glistening, 28-feet long silver arrows cruised through the night air on May 9-10 at 3,600 kmph, or nearly six times the speed of normal aircraft, 'BrahMos' emblazoned across them in blue. Fifteen of them crashed as giant fireballs on 11 of Pakistan's 13 major airbases, crippling the country's air defence network and military infrastructure. All that remained were runways pockmarked with craters, ashes of air defence radars and equipment, and a nation scampering to save its nuclear facilities from further hits. The BrahMos, dispatched to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack, left Pakistan in a muted scream, a thousand kilometres from its new home, the Sarojini Nagar defence production unit in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. UP under CM Yogi Adityanath is the newest birthplace of Asia's most dreaded ballistic missile. It was Yogi, during the recent inauguration of the BrahMos Aerospace facility in Lucknow, who confirmed the use of the missile in India's retaliatory strikes. 'If you didn't witness the BrahMos in action, ask the people of Pakistan," he said with a smile. The announcement was made at a high-profile event – the inauguration of the BrahMos production unit in Lucknow. It was a carefully timed disclosure to bring into sharp focus not just India's rapidly growing military might but also UP's role in defence manufacturing. BrahMos is a long-range supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia. Its 'Fire-and-Forget' principle, two-stage propulsion system, stealth features, and advanced guidance technology make it extremely difficult to detect or intercept. Depending on the mission, the missile can carry warheads of up to 300 kg and can fly barely 10 metres from the ground and as high as 15 km. Naturally, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 announced two Defence Industrial Corridors – one in Uttar Pradesh and the other in Tamil Nadu – BrahMos was a key component of the plan. These corridors are part of the 'Make in India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives aimed at reducing Bharat's past dependence as the world's largest importer of arms. Uttar Pradesh was chosen because of its enormous population, bustling economy, and existing manufacturing capabilities, particularly in medium, small and micro enterprises. Its central location, infrastructure, and connectivity make it easy to access supply chains in defence production. Then there is a preponderance of skilled labour available for large-scale manufacturing. The Yogi Adityanath government also offers incentives and subsidies to draw investment, including tax benefits and land cost rebates. The six designated nodes of the UP Defence Industrial Corridor include Lucknow, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, and Chitrakoot. The new BrahMos Aerospace facility in Lucknow has been built on 80 hectares provided without cost by the state with a total investment of Rs 300 crore. The BrahMos Aerospace Unit in Lucknow includes a precision casting plant for critical components of jet engines and aircraft systems; a forge shop and mill products plant for titanium and super alloy bars, rods, and sheets; a precision machining shop which is India's first indigenous plant for titanium and super alloy metal powder production; the Stride Academy for practical training in defence and aerospace tech; and an R&D centre for indigenous technology development and material innovation. So far, 57 MoUs have been signed, with a proposed investment of nearly Rs 30,000 crore. The target is to raise Rs 50,000 crore and create a lakh jobs. While the BrahMos is doing its job, the destructive and creative power of the India's defence manufacturing idea is the real weapon. Abhijit Majumder is a senior journalist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. First Published: May 30, 2025, 10:26 IST
