Brahmos and Akash proved their worth as missiles in the India-Pakistan clash

Mint

23-05-2025

The recent war with Pakistan saw India use two indigenous systems, the Akash surface-to-air missiles and Brahmos cruise missiles.
On 7 May, Akash reportedly shot down a J17 Thunder fighter jet, developed by China and integrated by Pakistan, and on 10 May, the Indian Air Force (IAF) targeted several strategic locations deep inside Pakistan in retaliation to attempted airspace violation by using Brahmos missiles alongside Scalp and Hammer munitions.
Both Brahmos and Akash missiles have the distinct footprint of former president and scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
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Brahmos and the story of India's missile programme: Brahmos has a hoary history, and Kalam can justifiably be credited with seeding and fructifying its joint venture with NPO Russia in 1995. In tandem with the S-400 defence systems, which were imported from Russia and helped thwart Pakistan's swarm drone and missile attacks, Brahmos and Akash have become the mark of our strategic superiority in military systems.
The story of India being self-reliant in missile systems was envisioned when the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme was launched in 1983 to develop surface-to-surface missiles (short and long range), surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and anti-tank missiles. While the short-range Prithvi missile with a 150km range was inducted into service in 1994, the SAM missiles like Akash had several technical hiccups.
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Kalam circumvented these by forging a joint venture with NPO Russia in December 1995, with India's stake at 50.5%. The name Brahmos fused the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and Moskva of Russia. It can reach a speed nearing 3 Mach and cruise at altitudes up to 15km above sea level.
It follows a fire-and-forget principle. Once launched, no further guidance is required. The missile's low radar signature and high kinetic energy make it difficult to intercept.
Lethality of cruise missiles: These can be launched from submarines, ships and fighter aircraft. The air-launched variant of Brahmos, which can be fired from the SU-30 MKI, entered service in 2019. The IAF is reported to have fired these from the SU-30 modified aircraft. Four regiments of the Indian Army also have these missiles; in March 2025, the Defence Acquisition Council cleared the procurement of additional regiments equipped with Brahmos–Extended Range (ER) missiles worth ₹20,000 crore.
The cabinet committee on security has further cleared the acquisition of over 220 Brahmos-ER for deployment on warships at a cost of nearly ₹19,000 crore. During the recent standoff, multiple Indian naval ships undertook successful anti-ship firings in the Arabian Sea to revalidate the preparedness of platforms for long-range, precise offensive strikes.
While many countries like the Philippines, Brazil and Vietnam have shown interest in buying these missiles from India, China has objections to its neighbours getting them.
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India as an arms importer: India is the one of the world's largest importers of conventional arms in the world and its fifth-largest defence spender. India has 2,229 military aircraft as against Pakistan's 1,399; 3,151 combat tanks compared with Pakistan's 1,839. While the Pakistan Navy has 121 naval assets, India has 293, including two aircraft carriers and 18 submarines as against the former's eight.
In terms of nuclear weapons, as per the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, India spent $2.7 billion and Pakistan $1 billion in 2023. Our Self Reliance Index n strategic defence platform, weapons and systems is 30%.
Sourcing of critical platforms: The majority of India's arms are from Russia, though it has been shifting its arms sourcing to France, Israel and the US. While the US was the main arms supplier to Pakistan till 1990, China supplied 81% of Pakistan's imports, like J10 C aircraft and J15 during 2020-24, while 36% of India's arms were sourced from Russia during this period. New Delhi's tilt now is towards purchases from the US and France.
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The surprises: Some of the unexpected fallout of the short war was the insistence of both the US and Russia to de-escalate, while China seemed keen to see how its air assets perform against Indian targets. Turkey seems to be a solid supplier to Pakistan of drones, which were reportedly repulsed by India's S-400 missiles.
While Russia has proposed joint production of its latest S-500 air defence system with India, Moscow did not stand with New Delhi in the latest conflict, unlike its rock-solid support during the 1971 war, when Moscow checkmated the US move to intimidate India through its Seventh Fleet aircraft carrier.
Yet, today, both the Cold War rivals are competing to sell India their military hardware—the US its F-35 stealth aircraft and Russia its SU-57.
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Lessons and the way forward: One of the issues that concerns India is whether Pakistan will use the nuclear option if pushed to the brink. Former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto had once said, 'Neither India can use the nuke, nor can Pakistan. Whichever country is throwing that nuke knows there is not enough time or space, and is going to get it thrown back." That paradigm is valid even now.
Unfortunately, this brief war did not lead India to the five armed terrorists who committed the dastardly Pahalgam attacks. Nor was enough light thrown on claims of Indian air assets being destroyed. The Indian government should have acknowledged the death of civilians, including children in Jammu and Kashmir, and highlighted the large strides India has taken in the indigenous production of military assets.
Dialogue with adversaries should never be shelved, but we must also bolster our defence capability in strategic systems through joint ventures with global manufacturers and collaborations with design houses for arms development.
The author is a former joint secretary (aerospace), ministry of defence.