India, Russia developing smaller, hypersonic BrahMos: Alipov

Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov on Wednesday said work is underway by India and Russia to jointly develop smaller and hypersonic variants of BrahMos missiles, which will further enhance the Indian Armed Forces’ multi-domain strike capabilities.

“…boundless is the potential for the further modernisation of the BrahMos missile system, which began with land-based deployment and later expanded into naval, submarine, and air-launched domains. Following the landmark test in 2017, India completed a tactical cruise missile triad, creating an ecosystem that possesses some of the world’s fastest and most reliable precision strike systems of this class,” Alipov pointed out.

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He was speaking at the think tank Vivekananda International Foundation here on the occasion of 25 years of the maiden test launch of BrahMos missiles.

“Today, work is underway to develop smaller and hypersonic variants, which will further enhance the Indian Armed Forces’ multi-domain strike capabilities. BrahMos stands as an emblematic example that powerfully reaffirms Russia’s status as a natural—and, I dare say, indispensable—partner of choice for India,” Alipov noted.

“…the BrahMos joint venture became a model for future collaboration and a true trendsetter. It opened the path to a conceptual transformation in India’s defence policy—from a traditional buyer-seller framework to one based on technology sharing, co-development, and co-production. Nearly a decade and a half later, India institutionalised this approach under the banners of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

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Alipov said, “The project also marked a turning point in our bilateral cooperation, paving the way for other landmark initiatives such as the licensed and localised production of Su-30MKI fighter aircraft and T-90 main battle tanks in India, and, more recently, the AK-203 rifles produced by the Indo-Russia Rifles joint venture. It would be only natural to continue this successful trajectory through the joint development of fifth-generation fighter aircraft based on the Su-57 platform and the production of S-400 air defence systems. Altogether, this reflects the truly unique nature of India-Russia cooperation—one founded on complete trust and unwavering confidence between us as genuine strategic partners.”

BrahMos missiles are now going global and are increasingly in demand across the Asia-Pacific, West Asia, Africa, and Latin America. “I also cannot fail to mention Operation Sindoor, during which the BrahMos missile demonstrated exceptional efficiency, reliability, and precision.”