PM to visit BrahMos Aerospace complex

BrahMos chief A Sivathanu, along with senior officers, will brief Manmohan on the capabilities of the missile system.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will pay a visit to the BrahMos Aerospace complex on Wednesday to acquaint himself with the functioning of the sophisticated cruise missile system jointly produced by India and Russia.

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The visit comes close on the heels of a missile exercise that he witnessed from onboard aircraft carrier INS Viraat in the Arabian Sea in May.

The missile has a strike range of about 300 kms and a speed of nearly 3,500 kms per hour.

BrahMos chief A Sivathanu, along with senior officers of the armed forces and executives from units associated with the production of the cruise missile, will brief Manmohan on the capabilities of the missile system, official sources said.

Tested for the first time in 2001, the missile, which can be fired from ships, submarines and aircraft, has been deployed by the Navy in some of its warships, including destroyer INS Rajput.

The Army is also considering setting up a unit to handle the missile system and efforts were underway to make frontline warplanes like Sukhoi-30 MKI a platform for launching these weapons.

BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between the country's Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia, is also exploring possibilities of exporting the missile system to friendly countries, sources said.