DUBAI, November 13. /TASS/. The deliveries of BrahMos air-launched cruise missiles for India’s Air Force will start in January 2018, BrahMos Aerospace Joint Venture Co-Director Alexander Maxichev told TASS at the Dubai Airshow 2017 on Monday.
"The Indian Air Force has signed a contract on the delivery of air-launched BrahMos cruise missiles from January 2018. The missiles are designed to arm about 50 Su-30MKI fighter aircraft modified for their use," Maxichev said.
The deliveries of the ordered missiles will begin immediately after two certified launches against a naval and a ground target are carried out, he said, without specifying the timeframe of these launches and noting that they would be conducted until the end of the year.
India’s Air Force has modified two Su-30MKI fighter jets for air-launched BrahMos cruise missiles by now. The upgrade of the other 48 aircraft will begin immediately after this missile is accepted for service.
The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is the product of Russia’s Machine-Building Research and Development Consortium and India’s Defense Research and Development Organization, which set up BrahMos Aerospace joint venture in 1998.
The missile’s name comes from the names of two rivers: the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. The missile’s first launch took place on June 12, 2001 from a coastal launcher.