BrahMos: All you need to know about India's fastest cruise missile system amid Ind-Pak tensions

Mint

11-05-2025

India's fastest cruise missile system, BrahMos, was likely used in the precision strikes, which were carried out on the military bases in Pakistan on early Saturday, May 10, reported the news portal Indian Express.
According to the report, the strike targeted areas such as Rafiqui, Murid, Nur Khan, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Chunian. The airbases in Bholari, Jacobabad, Skardu, and Sargodha also had extensive damage.
As the India-Pakistan tensions rise after a ceasefire and violation session on Saturday, let's take a look inside India's arsenal, at the BrahMos missile system, which has been developed by the nation in partnership with Russia.
The BrahMos missile system is currently the fastest cruise missile in India's arsenal as of the year 2025. The first missile was tested on June 12, 2001, and since then, the nations have been collaborating in the advancement of the weapon.
The BrahMos missile is an unmanned payload rocket which is equipped with a propulsion system, guidance system, aerodynamic frame, precision-guided weapons and a warhead.
The supersonic missile can cruise at Mach 3 (more in the case of supersonic speeds) and has a range of up to 290 kilometres (up to 500 or 800 kilometres in its advanced variants). It is also equipped to deliver a 200- to 300-kilogram high-explosive warhead.
'Fire and Forget' is a principle that India uses for the missiles' operation, as the weapon is used for long-range targets, having the benefit of a low radar signature and higher speed and accuracy.
This missile system was developed as a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia, which was established through an Intergovernmental Agreement signed in February 1998.
According to the official data, the BrahMos project, which was named after the two rivers Brahmaputra in India, and the Moskova in Russia, was established with an authorised capital of $250 million or more than ₹ 2,135 crore in today's value.
India contributed 50.5% of the authorised capital for the development, while Russia made up for the rest, 49.5%, back in 1998. However, the cost of development of the BrahMos missile is not officially disclosed.
According to multiple media reports, the cost of developing a production unit for BrahMos was ₹ 300 crore, and each missile allegedly costs nearly ₹ 34 crore in market value.
After the first BrahMos missile was launch tested in June 2001. The weapon was India's first supersonic cruise missile, and the first version of the missile was commissioned to the Indian Navy in 2005.
The BrahMos was commissioned to the Indian Army in 2007, and later on, the Indian Air Force also received an air-launched version of the same for its Sukhoi-30mki fighter aircraft.
The supersonic cruise missile is capable of launching from four platforms, namely, from an air-launched system, a land-based system, ship-based system, and a submarine-based system.
As of April 2025, there are only two variants of the BrahMos missile in service with the armed forces, i.e. the BrahMos Block I and the BrahMos Air-Launched.
Apart from these, there are three other BrahMos missiles under the pipeline, which will be equipped with more advanced technology and a higher grade of capabilities.
The BrahMos Extended Range, which seeks to hit the enemy at a range of up to 1,500 kilometres, and the BrahMos-II Hypersonic which aims to cruise at Mach 8 speeds, and the BrahMos-NG (NextGen) which seeks to be a reduced weight version of the weapon capable of being fired from land, air and under the sea.