Godrej Gets Fresh Order For Supersonic BrahMos Missile Components

Barely a fortnight after India successfully test fired the air version of the BrahMos missile from the Indian Air Force's frontline Sukhoi-30 MKI combat jet, Godrej & Boyce received a fresh order to supply airframe fuel management systems for the BrahMos Air-Launched Cruise Missile.

BrahMos Aerospace Ltd., a 50.50:49.50, joint venture between India's Defence Research Development Organisation and its Russian counterpart has placed an order for an additional 100 airframes from Godrej. “We currently produce two a month, we plan to ramp it up to four in some time,” said Jamshyd Godrej, chairman of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd.

Godrej & Boyce, which has been associated with BrahMos since the year 2000, recently completed the supply of its 100th airframe for the missile. “It took us ten years to understand and develop the technology to master BrahMos Missile,” said Godrej. “We will deliver the additional 100 airframes in the next 3-5 years,” he added.

The company already supplies airframes for land and sea versions of the BrahMos missile to BrahMos Aerospace. Both versions have been inducted by the army and navy.

The air version currently has 65 percent of sub-systems indigenously manufactured, while a little more than 50 percent of the entire missile is indigenously produced, said Sudhir Mishra, managing director and chief executive officer of BrahMos Aerospace and director general of the joint venture DRDO-BrahMos. This indigenous component could increase to little over 60 percent in the next 1-2 years, Mishra said.

“I would like entire 100 percent of missile to be manufactured in India, but we want our Russian partners to contribute in this joint venture,” he added.

BrahMos Aerospace is currently working on a miniature version of the missile, called BrahMos NG. The mini version of the missile is still in the design stage and development is a few years away, said Mishra.

India test fired the air version of BrahMos on Nov. 22 from air to sea. Currently, the Sukhoi can carry only one BrahMos at a time. The mini version of BrahMos will enable Sukhois to carry multiple missiles. The air force is expected to undertake a few more tests before inducting it.

BrahMos Aerospace is also looking at extending the missile's range after India's full membership to the Missile Technology Control Regime last year, which removed the cap on range to the BrahMos cruise missile. This will allow India to look at developing missiles with an over 300-kilometre range. In March this year, India test fired the extended range missile to hit a target beyond 400 km.