India, Russia to work on developing hypersonic version of BrahMos: Report

National Security Advisor (NSA), Ajit Doval and his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev met last week and discussed the possibilities of developing the hypersonic version of BrahMos or BrahMos-II missile, The Economic Times (ET) reported.

The two leaders discussed the supply of defence equipment from Russia and collaboration in the domain. The discussions were held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (NSA) meets. The report said that the two senior officials discussed the possibility of joint development of an advanced version of the BrahMos missile.

The two NSAs met one-on-one and discussed a wide range of issues, including connectivity, payment mechanisms, security partnerships, and defence supplies from Russia that have been impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war, the report said.

Moscow has an edge over the US and other western powers when it comes to the development of hypersonic missiles, the report said. It is important to note that hypersonic missiles are considered a game changer in modern warfare. Hypersonic Weapons Systems (HWS) have attracted attention since the Russia-Ukraine war started. 

If it becomes a reality, BrahMos-II could have the same capabilities as Russia's Tsirkon (Zircon) missile, the ET report said. CEO of BrahMos Aerospace, Atul Rane, had said last year that it was "possible" that BrahMos-II would carry some similarities with Russia's Tsirkon missile.

"The whole world is working on a hypersonic cruise missile. The US and China are developing hypersonic versions of their cruise missiles. But they do not have them yet. I have not seen anyone in the world having hypersonic cruise missiles. Russia says it tested the Tsirkon hypersonic antiship cruise missile developed by NPO Mashinostroeniya," Rane told Russian news agency TASS last year.

Hypersonic weapon systems are advanced military technologies that can travel at speeds of Mach 5 or higher. Mach 1 defines the speed of sound. These weapons are designed to be extremely manoeuvrable and can change their trajectory quickly, evading enemy defences in the process.

The BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile, developed by the joint Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace company. The first trial launch was conducted in 2001. Various versions of this missile have been commissioned by India's Navy, Air Force, and Army.