BrahMos hopes to clinch $10 bn worth orders in next decade

The Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace hopes to bag global orders worth $10 billion for its BrahMos cruise missiles in the coming decade, a top official here said.     

After successfully working on the contracts for the Indian Navy and Army, the New Delhi-based JV is now poised to expand in the international market and some of the contracts are already in the pipeline, BrahMos CEO Sivathanu Pillai said.     

"The political leadership has cleared the export of BrahMos anti-ship missiles to mutually agreed friendly countries and work is underway to finalise contracts," Pillai said, without identifying the nations.     

Many nations across the globe are taking keen interest in the deadly supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, which will remain unmatched at least for the coming decade.     

According to earlier reports, South Africa, Chile, Kuwait and some other countries, which do not pose any potential threat to the Indian and Russian navies, have been included in the shortlist of BrahMos recipients.    

The JV set up by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's Mashinostroyenia is ready to meet the demand for the cruise missiles, which could exceed 1000 units in ten years, half of which would be for export.     

BrahMos Aerospace hopes to produce two thousand cruise missiles of various modifications at its facilities in India and Russia, while work is at full swing for the development of submarine and aircraft-launched versions.