Telangana CM assures support to BrahMos Aerospace for its expansion
History of BrahMos Aerospace
India's defence history entered a new chapter in the year 1983 when decision makers along with the scientific community launched a visionary and ambitious programme to address the country's need to empower the defence forces. This gave way to the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) which was sanctioned by the Government of India.
The project was aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in missiles programme by developing and producing a comprehensive range of missiles concurrently, including the intermediate range and short range ones. The IGMDP brought together R&D institutions, academia, industry and the Users to achieve a common goal critical to India.
However, after the Gulf War of 1990s, it was felt increasingly necessary to equip the country's armed forces with a cruise missile system.
It was at that time when India's decades-old bonhomie with Russia, without disturbing the unique balance in the Non-Alignment policy, came to the forefront in developing the new missile system.
On 12 February, 1998, late Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, the then Secretary, Dept. of Defence R&D, also a missile technologist, on behalf of India and N V Mikhailov, Russia's first Deputy Defence Minister on behalf of Russian Federatation, signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) in Moscow. It paved the way for BrahMos Aerospace - the Joint Venture entity between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM).
The formation of the company set a remarkable example towards the design, development, productionisation of a jointly-developed high technology military product and its promotion in the world market through the participation of several Indian and Russian institutions along with Public-Private industries.
The first successful launch of BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile took place on 12 June, 2001. The missile was test fired from a stationary vertical launcher off the Chandipur coast in Odisha, India.
Following this landmark success, the Joint Venture company came into limelight and started participating in domestic and international defence & aerospace exhibitions. Stepping into the global market, BRAHMOS was displayed at the MAKS exhibition in Moscow, Russia for the first time in the year 2001.
'Universal' BRAHMOS has undergone a number of successful flight trials since then, meeting the requirements of potential users. The system is in service with the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and is currently propelling India's defence export ambitions to newer heights.
Both the Governments of India and Russia on 07th February 2014 agreed to continue their hallmark friendship and strategic partnership towards the BRAHMOS missile programme by perpetual extension of the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA).