NEW DELHI. Jan 20 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian and Indian Navies have adopted the jointly developed BrahMos cruise missile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told journalists in New Delhi on Tuesday.
"In military-technical cooperation, Russia and India will be carrying out joint projects beginning from R&D to production, adoption and the following disposal of arms and military hardware," he said.
"This is a question of hi-tech goods in aerospace and other spheres," Ivanov said.
Ivanov said the BrahMos recently successfully passed final tests.
"It is an excellent, super-modern, sea-launched missile unparalleled in the world," he said.
The missile was developed by the Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos set up in 1998 by Russia's Machine-Building Research and Production Association (NPOmash) and India's Defense Research and Development Organization. Its serial production will be launched in both countries and it will be sold to other countries.
Unofficial sources say the missile development required investments to the tune of USD240m, which were contributed by both parties on a parity basis.
Brahmos is a multifunctional missile used to destroy a wide variety of sea-borne targets. It is noted for its long flight range of up to 290km, great supersonic speed of up to 2.8 Mach, payload of up to 250kg and low radar signature.
The missile travels within the altitude bracket ranging from 10 to 14,000 meters on Hi-Lo trajectory, the weight of the baseline version mounting up to 3,000 kilograms. The operation mode of the missile provides for the fire-and-forget principle.
The Brahmos system comprises a supersonic cruise missile, launching unit, fire control system, ground support and training assets.
Experts say there are no analogues of Brahmos in the world. It surpasses contemporary missiles three times in speed, 2.5 times in range, and three to four times in orientation time.