In May 2025’s Operation Sindoor, India launched BrahMos missiles from Su-30MKI jets to strike targets deep inside Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi later said the missiles gave the enemy “sleepless nights,” and even Pakistan’s leaders admitted they had been caught off guard by the strikes. The BrahMos – a Mach 2.8–3.0 supersonic cruise missile with an original range of roughly 290 km (extended to 450 km and beyond) – proved its high precision and speed, making it nearly impossible to intercept. Operation Sindoor highlighted BrahMos’s strategic value, setting the stage for India’s next big missile plans.
1. Extending BrahMos Missile Range
India has long sought to boost the BrahMos’s reach beyond its original 290 km cap. After joining the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016, BrahMos developers extended its range to about 450 km. In 2025, reports emerged of a groundbreaking test of an 800 km BrahMos variant. These extended-range BrahMos missiles (land- and ship-launched, and soon air-launched) would let India strike much deeper into adversary territory from safer standoff distances.
2. Submarine-Launched BrahMos
India is also developing a submarine-launched BrahMos (SLCM) to add a hard-to-detect sea-based strike option. In 2013, BrahMos Aerospace successfully test-fired a vertical-launch BrahMos from a submerged platform. However, India’s current diesel-electric submarines lack the vertical launch tubes needed to carry BrahMos SLCMs. The plan is to install BrahMos on future subs (Project-75I/75Alpha) – either using special vertical launch cells or a smaller BrahMos-NG fired from a torpedo tube. Once deployed on subs, BrahMos will give India a potent underwater strike capability.
3. Miniaturized BrahMos (BrahMos-NG) for Fighter Jets
India is building a lighter BrahMos-NG for fighter aircraft. The original air-launched BrahMos-A weighs around 2.5 tonnes (so far only Su-30MKIs carry it), whereas BrahMos-NG is about 1.3 tonnes. This slimmer missile still flies at Mach ~2.8 with pinpoint accuracy, but its smaller size lets more missiles be carried. For example, a Su-30 could carry one BrahMos-A, but could carry four BrahMos-NGs; even the lighter Tejas could mount this mini-BrahMos. Integrating BrahMos-NG on MiG-29, Mirage‑2000, and Tejas fighters will greatly expand India’s long-range air-to-surface strike options with a supersonic punch.
4. Hypersonic BrahMos-II Development
India and Russia are working on BrahMos-II, a hypersonic cruise missile. BrahMos-II is expected to reach speeds around Mach 6–8 with a range up to ~1,500 km. Unlike today’s ramjet BrahMos, the new version will use a scramjet engine for sustained hypersonic flight. DRDO recently tested a long-duration scramjet combustor, a key step toward BrahMos-II. The BrahMos-II program had faced delays due to high costs and technological challenges, but rising global hypersonic competition has reignited the effort. When realized, BrahMos-II would be extremely hard to intercept and would keep India at the cutting edge of missile technology.
5. Boosting BrahMos Missile Exports
BrahMos is also becoming a growing export success. India’s first major sale was to the Philippines: a $375 million deal signed in 2022 for three BrahMos missile batteries. Now other countries are in talks. Indonesia has discussed buying BrahMos, and Vietnam is reportedly near a $700 million agreement. These export deals advance India’s strategic ties and deterrence. Supplying BrahMos to partners in Southeast Asia and beyond strengthens regional security – for example, it gives these nations a powerful ship- and land-attack missile in contested waters like the South China Sea. Overall, foreign interest and contracts for BrahMos underscore India’s rising role as a missile exporter and enhance military diplomacy.
Conclusion
India’s expanding BrahMos family showcases its rising defense power. The success of Operation Sindoor proved BrahMos’s lethality and the strength of India’s indigenous weapon industries – as Modi noted, BrahMos “entered enemy territory and caused destruction exactly where the targets were marked.” India is rapidly building up BrahMos production (with new facilities in Uttar Pradesh) and securing partnerships through exports. The BrahMos missiles – in land, air, naval and future sea-based roles – now stand at the core of India’s strategic deterrent. They reinforce India’s “Make in India” defense push and help balance power in the region, underlining BrahMos’s key role in modernizing India’s forces and boosting its international influence.