The BrahMos is a long-range, ramjet-powered supersonic cruise missile system, a key weapon in India's defense arsenal. It is the product of BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture established on December 5, 1995, between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya (NPOM). The name is a portmanteau of the rivers Brahmaputra (India) and Moskva (Russia). The project was initiated following an inter-governmental agreement in February 1998 to address the need for a modern cruise missile system to augment India's ballistic missile capabilities after the Gulf War.
The missile operates on a 'Fire and Forget' principle and is a two-stage vehicle. A solid propellant booster engine provides the initial thrust to achieve supersonic speed, after which a liquid-fueled ramjet sustainer takes over for the cruise phase. This mechanism allows it to maintain a speed typically between Mach 2.8 and Mach 3.0, making it one of the world's fastest cruise missiles. It can be launched from land, sea, air, and submarine platforms.
The system connects directly to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which India joined in 2016. This membership allowed the original range cap of 290 km to be overcome, leading to the development of the BrahMos-ER (Extended Range) variant with a range of 450 km. An 800 km range variant is currently under development. Recent changes include the induction of the air-launched variant by the Indian Air Force in January 2020. Future developments include the miniaturized BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) and the planned hypersonic BrahMos-II.