Why the BrahMos-NG Delay Could Be Good News for Indian Self-Reliance

Development trials of the BrahMos-NG missile have been pushed back by at least a year, TASS reported on June 10.

BrahMos Aerospace Joint Venture (JV) Managing Co-Director Alexander Maksichev told TASS on the sidelines of the International Maritime Defense Show Fleet 2026:

"Flight tests of the new-generation BrahMos-NG missile have not yet begun due to the fact that the customer has slightly changed its requirements. Therefore, we still have to make some improvements."

"In other words, the requirements for the missile have become stricter and more demanding, so we will need some time to upgrade this missile and meet the new requirements. So we are still acting according to plan," Maksichev said.

The redesign of the BrahMos-NG is expected to take about a year, Maksichev noted.

BrahMos-NG Project Genesis

BrahMos Aerospace first announced the BrahMos-NG missile concept in March 2011.

The BrahMos-NG is not a BrahMos variant; it is a clean-sheet, high-supersonic missile that will be smaller and lighter than the current BrahMos.

Initially, the missile's qualitative requirements included:

Weight and dimensional compatibility for carriage by lighter fighter aircraft such as the Tejas Mk.1A and MiG-29UPG.

Internal carriage by the FGFA, which was to be jointly developed by India and Russia.

The missile was initially projected to be 6 m long and 0.5 m in diameter, with a top speed of Mach 3.5, a 200–300 kg warhead, and a maximum range of 290 km.

However, in July 2019, a BrahMos official reportedly told India Today that the missile would be 5 m long—possibly to enable torpedo-tube launch.

More recent press reports have claimed that the new missile will be capable of launch from standard submarine torpedo tubes, similar to the submarine-launched Exocet used on Scorpène submarines.

Clues to the Likely Cause of Delay

In September 2025, Maksichev told TASS:

"We are currently at the working design stage, which we will complete next year, and then we will move on to autonomous tests."

He added that it was too early to discuss timelines for actual flight testing.

In April 2026, Navbharat Times reported that the BrahMos-NG project had not yet received government clearance.

It now appears that the clearance may have been withheld to accommodate an additional qualitative requirement.

Considering that torpedo-tube launch capability was first publicly discussed in 2019, it is clearly not a new requirement. So what additional requirement has emerged?

One possibility is the use of an indigenously developed ramjet engine instead of a Russian-designed ramjet.

A New Ramjet Engine

Because the 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 Mashinostroyenia was 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.

It is possible that India's Ministry of Defence, currently the only customer for the BrahMos-NG, now wants the missile to be developed around an Indian-designed and Indian-developed ramjet engine.

Initially, BrahMos Aerospace assembled BrahMos missiles in India using ramjet engines produced at a plant in Russia's Orenburg region. Later, BrahMos Aerospace signed a technology-transfer agreement with its Russian partner to facilitate indigenous manufacture of the engine.

India has since begun using locally manufactured liquid-fuelled ramjet engines in BrahMos missiles.

Major airframe assemblies that form an integral part of the ramjet engine are now indigenously produced by Indian industry. These include metallic and non-metallic airframe sections comprising the ramjet fuel tank and pneumatic fuel-supply system.

Indigenous Ramjet for the NG

Building on the ramjet technology acquired through the BrahMos JV, India launched its own liquid-fuelled ramjet (LFRJ) design and development programme.

DRDL, a DRDO laboratory, is developing a technology-demonstrator LFRJ engine with a diameter of 350 mm for potential application in missiles and aerial targets.

The technology demonstrator powers DRDO's Supersonic TARget (STAR) project. Primarily intended for training surface-to-air and air-to-air weapon systems, STAR features a booster-ramjet combination and can achieve speeds of Mach 1.8–2.5, ranges of 55–175 km, and operating altitudes between 0.1 and 10 km.

STAR is also evolving into a combat-capable platform, with potential anti-AWACS, anti-radiation, and low-cost anti-ship variants.

An LFRJ derivative is also reportedly being developed to power the BrahMos-NG.

In November 2025, DRDO reportedly issued a Request for Information (RFI) to select a Development-cum-Production Partner (DcPP) for an LFRJ engine. The RFI may be aimed at developing a suitable LFRJ for the BrahMos-NG. If so, DRDL has likely firmed up the engine's design specifications.

The design changes now being requested for the BrahMos-NG may well be intended to accommodate a DRDL-developed ramjet engine rather than a Russian engine.

Ramjet engines are mechanically simple, but their development involves demanding challenges in materials, inlet optimization, combustor design, and fuel-flow management. As a result, the propulsion system is often among the most difficult subsystems of a missile to indigenize. Under the circumstances, it is conceivable that the DRDO-developed ramjet does not match the dimensional specifications of the Russian engine originally envisaged for the BrahMos-NG, necessitating design changes to accommodate it.

Conclusion

Using an indigenously developed ramjet for the BrahMos-NG would be a bold move aimed at consolidating the self-reliance that India has already achieved in missile technology. Relying on a yet-to-be-developed indigenous engine does entail the risk of schedule slippage. However, that risk is acceptable because import options will always remain available to bridge any temporary operational capability gaps caused by delays.

Temporary import dependence is preferable to committing an indigenously developed weapon system to permanent dependence on a foreign vendor.

Copyright © Vijainder K Thakur. First published on Thumkar.

BrahMos at Risk: Is India Losing Its Missile Edge?

The Navbharat Times (NBT) Online has reported, based on inputs from “reliable sources,” that the production of BrahMos missiles has plunged to below 50% of the level achieved a year ago.

The disconcerting report partly attributes the drop in production to the transfer of around 56 employees from Hyderabad to Lucknow and Pilani over the last few months, leading to employee disgruntlement and resignations.

At Lucknow, BrahMos Aerospace is in the process of setting up an integration and testing facility for existing BrahMos variants and future BrahMos-NG production.

At Peepli, in the Pilani area of Rajasthan, BrahMos Aerospace has a production unit where subsystems fabricated at various Indian and Russian work centres are delivered for final missile integration, checking, mechanical and electrical assembly, fuel filling, storage, and related activities.

BrahMos has additional integration centres in Hyderabad and Nagpur.

Reliable sources have told NBT Online that BrahMos Aerospace has alerted the Indian Navy to the possible delay of a few years in the supply of BrahMos missiles.

On March 1, 2024, the Indian Navy placed an order for 220 BrahMos-ER supersonic cruise missiles, along with associated shipborne launch systems, primarily for deployment on Indian Navy warships (including Visakhapatnam- and Kolkata-class destroyers).

Large-scale transfers of employees between geographically dispersed integration units can understandably disrupt the family lives of affected personnel. If unavoidable, such transfers require deft management to preclude employee disgruntlement.

No Go-Ahead for BrahMos-NG

Besides the over 50% drop in BrahMos production levels, the NBT report also states, based on its sources, that the BrahMos-NG project has not yet been approved by the MoD.

It is ironic that the Government of India formally approved and initiated construction of the BrahMos-NG development and testing facility in Lucknow on December 26, 2021—when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone—yet has not approved development of the missile itself.

BrahMos-NG: Historical Perspective

BrahMos Aerospace first announced the BrahMos-NG missile concept in March 2021. The missile was expected to:

Be carried by lighter fighter jets such as the Tejas Mk.1A and MiG-29UPG.

Fit inside the internal weapons bay of the FGFA, the stealth fighter India and Russia were co-developing at the time.

The NG is not a BrahMos variant; it is a clean-sheet, high-supersonic missile design that will be smaller and lighter than the current BrahMos.

The missile was initially projected to be 6 m long and 0.5 m in diameter, with a top speed of Mach 3.5 and a 200–300 kg warhead, and a maximum range of 290 km.

In July 2019, a BrahMos official reportedly told India Today that the missile would be 5 m long—possibly to enable torpedo-tube launch.

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.

BrahMos-NG – Misleading Development Timelines

Over the years, BrahMos officials have made overly optimistic statements about the development timeline 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 BrahMos-NG would begin before the end of 2025.

He said:

“In parallel with construction of the (Lucknow) plant… the first flight samples of the new BrahMos-NG rocket will be assembled for flight testing… before the end of 2025.”

Finaly, Development Start

There is good reason to believe that development actually started in September 2025.

On September 9, 2025, TASS reported that BrahMos Aerospace is designing the missile and intends to begin autonomous testing in 2026.

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 timelines for actual flight testing.

After 14 years of announcements, it finally appeared that the project was making progress.

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 compelling offer to India to procure its Su-57 stealth fighters for the IAF.

In July, the IAF projected a requirement for 2–3 squadrons of stealth fighters to the Indian government, given the depletion of its fighter inventory, delays in AMCA development, and the evolving threat environment.

If the government accepts the Russian offer—which appears attractive due to the inclusion of transfer of technology—the IAF would want BrahMos-NG to be compatible with the Su-57 variant it acquires. The missile would need to fit within the aircraft’s internal weapons bays and conform to their load-carrying limits.

During the Dubai Airshow 2025, the Su-57 displayed a pair of Kh-58UShK anti-radiation missiles in its forward internal weapons bay during flight demonstrations.

The Kh-58UShK has a launch weight of 650 kg. By extrapolation, the forward internal bay’s maximum payload capacity appears to be 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 BrahMos-NG would weigh less than 1,250 kg.

For comparison:

Standard BrahMos weighs ~3,000 kg

BrahMos-A weighs ~2,500 kg

Thus, miniaturisation is critical.

In addition to physical fitment, radar and mission-computer integration would require close 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

Any significant drop in the production of BrahMos missile variants at this stage would be a serious setback, potentially weakening the deterrence capability of the Indian Armed Forces.

Any delay in approving the development of BrahMos-NG could necessitate the import of a comparable system to keep the IAF’s MiG-29 and LCA fleets operationally viable.

Russia has already begun work on the engine and a new high-supersonic air-launched missile. India must now decide whether to participate meaningfully—before timelines slip again, as they did in the case of the FGFA.

Copyright © Vijainder K Thakur. First published on Thumkar.

Fourteen Years On: Will BrahMos-NG Become More Than a Concept?

via X

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.

Copyright © Vijainder K Thakur. First published on Thumkar.