India's quest for the BrahMos-2 hypersonic cruise missile has come face to face with some grim reality checks, and BrahMos Aerospace, which was to develop the missile in partnership with Russia, has reportedly paused development of the missile.
Three factors appear to have weighed in the decision to push back BrahMos-2 development:
The high cost of the BrahMos-2 missile
The high precision and air defence (AD) penetration capability of the BrahMos missile
Russia's reluctance to transfer hypersonic flight scramjet engine technology
The BrahMos-2 is projected to cost approximately $12.5 million. In contrast, BrahMos-1 variant costs range from $3 million to $4.5 million.
The BrahMos-1 established a good accuracy and penetration track record during Op Sindoor. Similarly, Russia's Onyx missile, a BrahMos-1 analogue, has established a good track record in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The penetration capability of the hypersonic BrahMos-2 will be marginally higher than the BrahMos, but not enough to justify its much higher cost. Under the circumstances, it would make more sense for India to increase its inventory of BrahMos missiles through a production ramp-up that will additionally cut down unit cost.
Russia’s reluctance to provide full transfer-of-technology access for scramjet propulsion systems derived from its 3M22 Zircon hypersonic missile isn't surprising. Russia is a world leader in scramjet propulsion, and its need to preserve that lead is existential in nature.
Indigenous Hypersonic Development
Deprioritising BrahMos-2 development could energise several DRDO R&D programs aimed at mastering hypersonic flight and scramjet propulsion.
DRDO has already developed ramjet and scramjet engines for missiles. The former operate efficiently at high supersonic speeds, and the latter operate efficiently at hypersonic speeds.
DRDO developed a ramjet engine for its Akash air defence missile and locally manufactures the ramjet engine that powers the BrahMos missile. A project to develop an indigenous alternative ramjet engine for the BrahMos missile is reportedly underway.
DRDO’s Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) successfully demonstrated short-duration scramjet engine operation.
Under the follow-up Extended Trajectory–Long Distance Hypersonic Cruise Missile (ET-LDHCM) program, the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) successfully demonstrated long-duration scramjet propulsion. On January 9, 2026, DRDL operated its actively cooled, full-scale scramjet combustor, achieving a run time of over 12 minutes at its state-of-the-art Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) facility.
Earlier, on April 25, 2025, DRDL had successfully ground-tested a subscale actively cooled scramjet combustor for more than 1,000 seconds at the same facility.
The maiden ground test of the full-scale combustor, lasting 120 seconds, took place on January 21, 2025.
With these successful tests, the scramjet combustor is now poised for full-scale, flight-worthy testing.
Dual Mode Ramjet (DMRJ)
In a ramjet engine, the air entering the engine is slowed to subsonic speed and consequently compressed before combustion. In a scramjet engine, the air is similarly slowed down and compressed but remains supersonic throughout the combustor.
Ramjet engines operate efficiently roughly from Mach 3 to Mach 6. Scramjet engines are needed for speeds beyond Mach 6–7.
A DMRJ, which combines ramjet and scramjet propulsion, can operate efficiently across a very wide supersonic to hypersonic speed envelope by switching how combustion occurs inside the engine.
The Indian Air Force, on January 29, 2026, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID), IISc Bengaluru, to indigenously develop a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet engine (DMRJ), intended for use in propelling missiles or combat aircraft.
BrahMos-2 Hypersonic Cruise Missile Program
India's quest for a hypersonic cruise missile started as far back as 2008 when, during a visit to India by Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, the two countries signed an agreement to develop a hypersonic follow-up to the BrahMos missile.
In September 2009, the two countries finalised the technical QRs for the missile and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
However, the project has failed to make any headway since then. Meanwhile, Russia has gone on to complete development of a BrahMos-2 analogue, the Zircon. Russia operationally deployed the missile as part of its Special Military Operation in Ukraine. Launched from coastal batteries, the Zircon has proven more destructive and difficult to intercept than even the Russian Iskander-M quasi-ballistic missile.
During an interview in June 2024, BrahMos Aerospace's CEO Atul Dinkar Rane and Deputy CEO Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Joshi told Sputnik India that while BrahMos-2 remained in the pipeline, project development would be initiated only after completing development of the BrahMos-NG missile, a lighter, scaled-down version of the BrahMos that would facilitate launch by Tejas and MiG-29UPG.
"Hypersonic BrahMos is in our pipeline. However, a definite timeline for its development cannot be provided at this stage. Presently, we are working on the BrahMos-NG programme. Once we realise it successfully, we would consider working on the more advanced hypersonic BrahMos variant."
In July 2025, RT India reported that Russia and India could reach an agreement to rekindle the BrahMos-2 hypersonic cruise missile project during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India.
Prioritising BrahMos-NG Development
Much like the BrahMos-2, the BrahMos-NG missile development project has remained in limbo since it was first announced in 2011.
However, recent reports suggest that development of the missile may have started, though the project is yet to receive an official nod.
On September 9, 2025, 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.
More recently, it has been reported that the new missile would be capable of launching from standard submarine torpedo tubes—similar to the submarine-launched Exocet used on Scorpene submarines.
Clearly, BrahMos Aerospace has its hands full with the development of the BrahMos-NG and does not have the resources to develop the BrahMos-2 at this point in time.
Conclusion
The lethality, penetration, and accuracy of the high-supersonic-speed BrahMos-1 missile can adequately meet the operational needs of the Indian Armed Forces for the time being.
Embarking on the development of the hypersonic BrahMos-2 through a collaborative project would dramatically raise costs, make the missile unaffordable in large numbers, and result in very little technological gain. Indeed, a hypersonic capability could well prove destabilising, considering that we share land borders with our nuclear-armed adversaries. The shorter flight time of hypersonic missiles would lower the nuclear threshold.
