Brahmos to be inducted into IAF by 2012

Coimbatore, Mar 23 (ANI): A. Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Brahmos Aerospace, has said that the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos will be inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) by 2012.

Pillai was interacting with media at a function here on Sunday as he spoke at length about the programme for integration of the Brahmos missile on an airborne platform.

"The light weight air force missile development is almost completed. Now, it is important to integrate this missile with the Sukhoi aircraft. That process is now going on and the necessary modifications to be carried out are being made with this. We are aiming that 2011 for out flight trails and 2012 for the induction. This is our present programme for the air force version," said Pillai.

Brahmos, named after India's Brahmaputra river and Russia's Moskva river, is primarily an anti-ship missile, but can be used against land targets as well.

The Brahmos, which is eight metres in length, has a range of 290 km and carries a conventional warhead weighing about 200 kg.

The three-ton Brahmos can reach a speed of Mach 2.823, almost three times the speed of sound, and can be launched from land, ships, submarines and aircraft. (ANI)