BrahMos Aerospace To Add Hypersonic Missile To Lineup

(AviationWeek) :  Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace expects to start developing a new hypersonic missile, the BrahMos-2, this year.
Also, tests for the air-launched version of the existing BrahMos supersonic cruise missile are scheduled to begin next year.
“We expect to be able to start the tests of BrahMos missiles launched from aircraft. Various types of aircraft, including Su-30 MKI fighters, are expected to be armed with these missiles,” says BrahMos Aerospace Director Alexander Maksichev.
Established in 1998, BrahMos Aerospace Ltd. manufactures supersonic cruise missiles based on the Russian-designed NPO Mashinostroyenie 3M55 Yakhont (SS-N-26). The anti-ship missile was first launched 10 years ago on June 12 to coincide with Russia’s National Day, from India’s interim test range at Chandipur-on-sea. The name BrahMos is derived from the names of two rivers—the Brahmaputra of India and Moskva of Russia.
The existing supersonic cruise missile system, which has a range of 290 km (180 mi.), can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg (660 lb.). It can travel at Mach 2.8 to 3.0, about 3.5 times faster than the U.S. subsonic Tomahawk. The missile, which can be configured for multiple types of platforms for use against targets on land and at sea, has already been inducted into the Indian army and navy. The air-launched version soon will be integrated on Indian air force Sukhoi fighters. Work is also underway to develop a submarine-launched version, with test-firing by the end of 2011. The sub version will have the same capabilities as earlier variants and will be designed to strike at both land and sea-based targets.
India also is planning to deploy the air-launched version on the Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft being developed with Russia. FGFA is another Russian-Indian joint-venture program, under which India will induct 250-300 of the advanced aircraft.
BrahMos Aerospace chief A. Sivathanu Pillai says the order book for missiles from all the three Indian armed forces is full for the next 10 years. According to a defense ministry official, the three services have orders worth $4 billion. India is the first and only country to have a maneuverable supersonic cruise missile in its inventory, he says.