Small is Lethal

Smruti D

BrahMos Aerospace Limited, a joint venture between India and Russia, released its latest missile, BrahMos NG (next generation). The missile was first announced in 2014 ahead of Russian President Vladamir Putin’s India visit.

The BrahMos-NG missile on display during a DefExpo 2018 in Chennai

The BrahMos NG is a smaller version of the existing supersonic cruise missile BrahMos. It was created to be deployed on ground-based, aerial, surface and underwater-based platforms. The size of this missile enables it to be launched even from torpedo rooms of submarines. The length of the missile is six metres and diameter 50 centimetres. An official statement ahead of signing the agreement stated that the missile would be ‘difficult’ to counter even for ‘complicated and modern’ anti-aircraft missiles given its size.

Lethal and precise, the BrahMos NG is smaller in size and weight as compared to the original missile. It weighs 1.6 tonnes and is 6 metres long; the earlier version weighed 3 tonnes and was 9 metres long. The missile has a range of 290 km and a speed of up to 3.5 Mach. BrahMos NG has a lesser radar cross section (RCS) compared to the earlier missile, which would make it tougher for air defence systems to locate and engage the target. The new missile will also have an indigenously developed and manufactured seeker. While the earli