New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence signed a Rs 661.50 crore deal with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited on Tuesday for the procurement of BrahMos fire control system and launchers for Indian Navy ships under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.
With a minimum 68 per cent indigenous content, the project encourages active participation of various Indian industries including MSMEs (micro small and medium enterprises) in the supply chain. The project will generate employment over a period of three years.
It also bolsters India’s maritime security architecture and defence capabilities and marks a critical milestone in the ongoing efforts to indigenise advanced military technology, according to the Defence Ministry statement.
The contract was inked in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh in Delhi.
The BrahMos System fitted on board various frontline warships is the Indian Navy’s primary Surface to Surface Missile (SSM) system for maritime strike operations. The weapon system is capable of targeting land and sea targets from extended ranges with pinpoint accuracy at supersonic speed.
The missile operates at a speed of 2.8 Mach throughout its flight, making it one of the fastest cruise missiles in service. It has a standard operational range of up to 290 km with extended-range variants reaching over 400 km. The missile has sea-skimming capability, descending as low as 5 to 10 meters in the terminal phase to evade radar detection.
It carries a conventional warhead weighing between 200 kg and 300 kg and features inertial navigation system (INS) and radar terminal guidance with satellite navigation augmentation.
The missile has also proved its ‘salvo’ launch capability to knock down a single or different targets located in different directions during a successful test firing carried out from the Navy’s guided missile frigate, In salvo mode the weapon can be launched within short intervals in various trajectories. A salvo of Brahmos missiles can pierce into and annihilate a group of targets having modern anti-missile defence systems.
(IANS)
