Defence Chiefs Say BrahMos Is India’s Brahmastra

"The lethal combination of BrahMos missiles, whose range has been extended to 450-km from the original 290-km, fitted on the Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets has really given us a tremendous capability to enhance our firepower," the Indian Air Force Chief Air Marshal V R Chaudhari said at the silver jubilee celebrations of the India-Russia joint venture BrahMos Aerospace in Delhi.

The comments come in the wake of the two long unsettled borders with China and Pakistan.

"It has made the deterrence value of IAF go up by leaps and bounds... As the situation unfolded in the northern borders (with China) three years ago, we realised that the potent weapon can be used very effectively for land attacks," he also said.

The next generation BrahMos, a smaller and lighter version of the existing missile which flies almost at the speed of sound will also be fitted into smaller fighters such as the MiG-29s, Mirage-2000s and Tejas light combat aircraft. An 800-kilometre range variant of the BrahMos has also undergone its maiden test.

"Due to our legacy issues of unsettled borders and related security challenges, possession of strategic deterrence instruments in our case is essential. And the three Services as users of the Brahmos missile systems now stand enabled for not just deterrence but also to respond robustly when required," Army Chief, General Manoj Pande said.

Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan said that the BrahMos is a 'Brahmastra.' "We are going to establish joint ventures (with foreign partners) in India and BrahMos Aerospace is one such venture. It has been a major success story," he said.