Russia and India will create a BrahMos air-to-air cruise missile to destroy AWACS radar detection aircraft.

This was announced by the co-director of the Russian-Indian enterprise "BraMos" Alexander Maksichev.

According to him, preparations for the first rocket launch are planned to be completed by 2024.

He added that BrahMos missiles are now being used to destroy land and sea targets.

“Thus, we are expanding the range of targets for BrahMos missiles, in a few years it will be capable of destroying air targets as well.

That is, the platform will remain the same only with some modernization, but it will have different "brains", that is, a different homing head to destroy a radar, that is, a contrasting target ", - quotes the co-director of the enterprise RIA Novosti.

Aircraft AWACS (in the NATO classification) are flying radars that, using airborne radar reconnaissance systems installed on them, detect enemy objects and targets at a long distance, direct weapons or intercept weapons at them, and also coordinate the actions of ground forces.

Aircraft of this type are easily recognizable by the distinctive radar "dish" mounted on the fuselage, as, for example, on the American Boeing E-3 Sentry.

Russian-Indian breakthrough

The Russian-Indian joint venture "BrahMos" (BrahMos is an abbreviation for the first three letters of the names of the Brahmaputra and Moscow rivers) was established in 1998.

It specializes in the manufacture of supersonic cruise missiles, as well as missile launchers and control systems.

The development of the BrahMos missiles within the framework of the joint venture is carried out by the Russian NPO Mashinostroyenia and the Defense Research and Development Organization of India DRDO.

It was based on the Soviet short-range missile P-800 "Onyx".

  • American AWACS aircraft model Boeing E-3

  • © US Air Force

Serial production of "BrahMos" missiles (nomenclature PJ-10) began in 2004.

The missile was soon adopted by India in land, air and sea versions.

It is designed to engage enemy targets and targets at supersonic speed at a distance of up to 300 km.

The missile is capable of a speed of Mach 2.5-2.8 with an initial mass of 3 tons and can carry a warhead weighing up to 300 kg.

The airborne version is a 2.5-ton supersonic air-to-ground cruise missile with a range of about 300 km.

Depending on the flight altitude, the rocket speed can vary from 680 m / s to 750 m / s.

The first "BrahMos" models of the "ground-to-ground" class could hit targets at a distance of up to 300 km.

However, in March 2017, successful tests were carried out in India, during which the rocket covered a distance of 400 km.

In April of the same year, the first launch of a rocket from a ship was made.

In November 2017, the Indian Ministry of Defense announced the first live firing of an air-launched BraMos-A missile against naval targets in the Bay of Bengal.

The launch was made from the Russian Su-30MKI fighter jet, which is in service with the Indian troops.

In December 2019, the Indian military conducted successful tests of two types of BrahMos missiles - ground and air - on one day.

A ground-based missile launched from a mobile unit hit a training target in the Bay of Bengal 290 km away.

At the same time, another launch was made from the Su-30MKI fighter.

In February 2020, the head of Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, announced that Russia and India are planning to sell BrahMos missiles to third countries.

In addition to the development of a new modification of the air-to-air class to defeat AWACS aircraft, it is planned to create a BrahMos hypersonic missile with a speed of Mach 6-7 by 2028.

This was announced in August by the co-director of the enterprise Alexander Maksichev.

"Today, the issue of creating a BrahMos hypersonic rocket is divided into two stages: the first is the creation of a rocket with a speed of Mach 4-5 until 2024/25, the second is the creation of a rocket with a speed of Mach 6-7 until 2026/27," he quotes RIA News.

Maksichev added that the company's specialists have already tested some of the elements and assemblies of the rocket, which allow them to develop such speeds.

In an interview with RT, military expert Alexei Leonkov noted that the BrahMos missile project is turning into a multi-platform system.

“The Indians have already developed the technology that allows them to destroy objects at sea and on land, and are now creating long-range air-to-air missiles.

It is no coincidence that they choose such aircraft as AWACS as targets, because such aircraft of a potential enemy are key in conducting air offensive operations, ”the expert noted.

According to Leonkov, modifying the BrahMos missiles to the air-to-air class is quite a feasible task.

“The main thing is to provide the missile with control, guidance and target designation systems.

If the Indian side resolves all these issues, it will receive a universal multi-platform missile.

The only question remains how much the technical characteristics of the rocket will change, the overall dimensions that will allow it to be placed on fighters, for example, the Su-30MKI.

This fighter is now the carrier of the BrahMos anti-ship missile, ”the expert recalled.

Air domination

Military expert Yuri Knutov, in a conversation with RT, recalled that passive seeker technologies that allow missiles to hit AWACS flying command posts were developed for the S-200 air defense system in the Soviet Union.

“If we combine the technologies that we have created for the S-200 and S-300 missile systems with the technologies that are already being used in the BrahMos rocket, then I am sure that such a rocket will be created by 2024 and its effectiveness will be extremely high.

The likelihood of selling these missiles for export is also great, ”the expert noted.

  • Cruise missiles "Brahmos"

  • © Wikimedia Commons

It is no coincidence that long-range radar detection aircraft were declared the main purpose of a promising missile, since, in fact, they are flying command posts, Yuri Knutov noted.

“In fact, air combat control is currently carried out using AWACS aircraft.

They are, as it were, a key element of monitoring the airspace and targeting other aircraft - what targets to attack, how to act.

Plus, they control the air situation at the battle site.

The destruction of such a flying command post leads to disorientation of the enemy's actions and makes it possible to win a victory in an air battle, ”the expert noted.

AWACS aircraft can also create electronic interference to disorient guidance systems, but a missile with a passive homing system will still be able to detect it, Yuri Knutov specified.

"It would seem that the interference should disorient the missiles, and in this case they will be the source of the signal and show the coordinates of the target that the missile should hit," the expert explained.

In turn, Alexei Leonkov noted that the emergence of a new class of Brahmos missiles testifies to the success of the Russian-Indian joint venture.

“The entire BrahMos project is based on interaction with the Russian military-industrial complex.

For a number of solutions, the Indian side needs Russian experience and technical equipment.

As a result of interaction between Russia and India, the BrahMos project is developing and replenishing with missiles with new capabilities

", - concluded the military expert.