As stated in my earlier post, it has been widely reported in the Indian press that the summit talks between the Indian Prime Minister and the Russian President—scheduled for today and tomorrow—will cover cooperation on the development of the BrahMos-NG missile.
The BrahMos-NG is not a BrahMos variant; it is a clean-sheet design of a high-supersonic missile that will be smaller and lighter than the current BrahMos. The NG was conceived to facilitate:
1. Carriage by lighter fighter jets such as the Tejas Mk.1A and MiG-29UPG.
2. Carriage inside the internal weapons bay of the FGFA, the stealth fighter that India and Russia were developing for the IAF around 2011.
The missile was initially projected to be 6 m long and 0.5 m in diameter. It was to have a top speed of Mach 3.5 and carry a 200–300 kg warhead to a maximum range of 290 km.
More recently, it has been reported that the new missile would be capable of launching from standard submarine torpedo tubes—just like the submarine-launched Exocet used on Type-75 Scorpene submarines.
In July 2019, a BrahMos official reportedly told India Today that the missile would be 5 m long—possibly to enable torpedo-tube launch.
BrahMos-NG – Misleading Development Timelines
Over the years, MoD and BrahMos officials have made overly optimistic statements about the development of BrahMos-NG.
A senior defence official reportedly told Times Now in November 2017 that the air-launched BrahMos-NG was “currently in the design stage,” adding that the missile would be ready by 2019.
In February 2024, BrahMos Aerospace’s Export Director Pravin Pathak stated that flight tests of the BrahMos-NG would begin before end-2025.
He said:
“In parallel with construction of the plant… the first flight samples of the new BrahMos-NG rocket will be assembled for flight testing… before the end of 2025.”
Development Actually Begins
There is good reason to believe that real development began only in September this year.
On September 9, TASS reported that BrahMos Aerospace is designing the missile and intends to begin autonomous testing next year.
TASS quoted Alexander Maksichev, Russian Managing Director of the JV, as saying:
“We are currently at the working design stage… and then we will move on to autonomous tests.”
He added that it was too early to discuss the timeline for actual flight testing.
"Autonomous testing" is likely ground-based testing. Flight testing could require an additional year or two, considering the need to upgrade a test aircraft—likely an IAF MiG-29—with supporting hardware and software.
After 14 years of announcements, it finally appears that the project is moving decisively forward and is awaiting a final political push from President Putin and Prime Minister Modi.
A New Ramjet Engine
Because BrahMos-NG must be significantly smaller and lighter, it requires a new, scaled-down ramjet engine.
During Aero India 2019, a BrahMos official stated that Russia’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia is developing this new engine.
This engine, like the missile itself, is a clean-sheet design. Feasibility studies and engineering analysis were reportedly completed around 2020.
Link With the Su-57
Russia has made a very tempting offer to India to buy its Su-57 stealth fighters for the IAF.
In July, the IAF had projected to the Indian government a requirement for 2-3 squadrons of stealth fighters in view of the depletion of its fighter aircraft inventory, delay in AMCA development and the existing threat perception.
If the government decides to take up the Russian offer, which appears rather compelling since it includes transfer of technology, the IAF would want the Brahmos-NG to be compatible with the variant of the Su-57 that it acquires. The missile would have to fit inside the internal bomb bays of the stealth fighter conforming to the load carrying the bays.
During the recently concluded Dubai Airshow, the Su-57 displayed a pair of Kh-58UShK anti-radiation missiles in its forward internal weapons bay during flight rehearsals and demonstrations.
The Kh-58UShK has a launch weight of 650 kg. Extrapolating, it would appear that the max weight carrying capacity of the forward internal weapons bay is around 1,300 kg.
In March 2019, BrahMos CEO Sudhir Misra stated that the Tejas underwing hardpoint can support a maximum load of 1,250 kg, including the launcher. This implies that the NG would weigh less than 1,250 kg.
The NG must therefore weigh below 1,300 kg. By contrast:
Standard BrahMos weighs ~3,000 kg
BrahMos-A weighs ~2,500 kg
Thus, miniaturisation is key.
In addition to physical fitment, radar and mission-computer integration would require Russian-Indian collaboration.
If Not Su-57—AMCA Compatibility
If India does not pursue the Su-57, the missile will need to be compatible with AMCA’s internal bay—an uncertain proposition at this stage of AMCA development.
Conclusion
Much remains to be done before BrahMos-NG becomes operational. Russia has begun work on the engine and on a new high-supersonic air-launched missile. India must now decide whether to participate meaningfully—before timelines slip, just as they did in the case of FGFA.
No comments:
Post a Comment