BrahMos Aerospace offers to sell supersonic missile to Vietnam

“BrahMos is the best supersonic cruise missile developed in the world today, and that is what we’re offering Vietnam,” Praveen Pathak, head of the Marketing, Promotion and Export Department at BrahMos Aerospace, told VnExpress on the sidelines of Vietnam International Defense Expo 2022 in Hanoi.

BrahMos Aerospace wishes to build a relationship with Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense, he said, adding that is why the corporation is exhibiting its missile deployment platforms, such as the Su-30MIK fighter jet, warships, submarines and ground launchers, at Defense Expo 2022. The event, which is being held in Hanoi from December 8-10, is the first large-scale arms fair to be held in Vietnam. More than 170 weapons companies and businesses from 30 countries and territories around the world are participating in the Expo.

Praveen Pathak, head of the Marketing, Promotion and Export Department at BrahMos Aerospace, at the Vietnam International Defense Expo 2022 in Hanoi, December 9, 2022 . Photo by VnExpress/Vu Anh

Pathak said Vietnam flies many Su-30 fighter jets, and that the BrahMos missile version for the aircraft could be suitable for the country. He added that the BrahMos missile for the Su-30MKI fighter is currently “available only in India and not even in Russia.”

The BrahMos missile is jointly developed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization and the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a rocket design bureau based in Reutov, Russia.

At the time it was test-fired in November 2017, it was introduced as “the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world,” with a strike range of around 290-300km.

The ship-launched and land-based missiles can carry a 200 kg warhead, whereas the aircraft-launched variant can carry a 300 kg warhead.