The second issue of the Arms Export magazine for 2023 published an interview with Atul Dinkar Rane, Managing Director of the Indian-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace. The bmpd blog presents the full text of the conversation to the readers.
With its quarter-century history, BrahMos is considered a successful enterprise not only in India itself, but also abroad. What, in your opinion, are the greatest achievements of the enterprise, and what are the missed opportunities? We have made significant progress, and the trust that has developed between Russian and Indian designers, in particular, the teams of the NPO Mashinostroenie (NPOM) and the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), has led to the unification of technological capabilities within the framework of the joint BrahMos project.
Initially, our plan was to combine technologies to create a rocket, and that's it. However, as the work continued and our communication skills improved, people began to share new ideas, which became our greatest achievement.
As for our unjustified expectations, at the stage of the development of the BrahMos missile, we expected that our main customers would be both the armed forces of India and the armed forces of Russia. It is a pity that the Russian side has not yet become such a customer. In fact, the Russian armed forces have an anti-ship cruise missile P-800 "Onyx" (export designation - "Yakhont"), which is the basic version of the BrahMos missile. However, it is not available on aircraft carriers, although the BrahMos missile is already available for Su-30 family fighters.
What are the results of the company's activities at the moment? How many BrahMos missiles have been delivered to the Indian Armed forces? What does the order portfolio look like? The results are stunning.
We are successfully delivering supplies to our ground forces, naval and air forces, and also currently have a very solid and stable portfolio of orders. The exact number of missiles is not subject to disclosure, but it is safe to say that BrahMos remains India's advanced tactical missile weapon system.
Initially, the level of localization of production was low. However, the Indians worked hard to raise him. What is the current percentage of the development of imported technologies? We have localized a significant part of the rocket's production, but how can we quantify this?
Is it measured by the volume of work or by the weight and size characteristics, or is it calculated in terms of value? The easiest way to say that we are about 68-75% dependent on local suppliers of components. However, when supplying missiles to the Indian armed forces, we must comply with the new procurement procedure, which limits the dollar value of foreign materials to no more than 50% of the final cost of the entire product. We just manage to fit into the framework of this standard.
The Government of India pays great attention to the participation of private companies in defense production under the Make in India program and other initiatives. Do you feel excluded from this process? India owns 50.5% of the share capital of BrahMos Aerospace, Russia - the remaining 49.5%.
At the same time, we are registered in India as a private Limited Company (Private Limited Company, Pvt Ltd). We are the only major arms manufacturer in the country with such an extensive network of industrial cooperation in the private sector of Indian industry. Taking into account the fact that the basis of BrahMos production cooperation is non-state industry, we are absolutely sure that BrahMos will never be excluded.
What are the main areas of improvement and development of BrahMos missiles? Is the company working on creating new versions of missiles, including lighter ones?The main areas of improvement of our products include increasing the localized component, which we have done quite successfully both in terms of technology and components, materials, etc. In addition, we have improved the tactical and technical characteristics of the missile.
All this has led to a reduction in the costs of production, maintenance and operation of the rocket. New variants of its execution are under development, including BrahMos-NG (next generation), which will be a miniaturized lightweight version of the existing system with a reduced signature. It is being developed for more modern land, sea (surface and underwater) and aerial platforms.
What are the latest achievements in the program of test launches of the BrahMos family of missiles from various platforms, including land, air and sea, after the summer of 2022? From 2022
The Indian Armed Forces conducted a series of successful test launches of BrahMos missiles from land, sea and air platforms. All these test launches confirmed the excellent combat effectiveness and technical perfection of this supersonic cruise missile, as well as the quality of components localized in production, the share of which in the technical appearance of this weapon system has increased.
What are the main achievements of the company in the field of hypersound? We are steadily moving in this direction and are working closely with DRDO and NPOM to achieve major technological breakthroughs.
Hypersound, being a very complex, highly sophisticated technology, requires intensive research and development of new parameters in terms of design, materials and other technical aspects. So, we are currently at the concept development stage and hope to introduce a hypersonic version of the BrahMos rocket in the next few years, as soon as the technologies underlying the concept are tested.
Which products are currently being promoted in target markets after the breakthrough Philippine contract? Have there been any problematic issues, and if so, how are they solved? We offer for export all versions of the BrahMos family of missiles - for land, sea and air carriers.
The landmark export contract with the Philippines has certainly opened up new opportunities for us. There are a number of countries that have strongly expressed their readiness to purchase a universal BrahMos missile weapon system.
The Government of India and the Government of Russia have already agreed in principle to export missiles to friendly, responsible foreign customers. Thus, there are no problem areas as such.
Does the government restrict the company's activities in terms of exporting its products to countries with serious military and political ambitions, such as Indonesia? BrahMos' policy is that we view our product as a deterrent weapon, not an offensive one.
Hegemony - whether in the West or in the East - must be kept under control and contained. BrahMos serves as just such a deterrent. So why not sell weapons to countries that feel threatened by other countries?
And since your company is a joint venture, does Russia have the right to veto supplies? Yes, it is quite unambiguous.
BrahMos is to be sold to a country acceptable to both Governments, namely the Russian Federation and the Republic of India. There is no doubt about it.
Which missile weapon systems do you consider to be competitive BrahMos products? To begin with, the BrahMos missile has a range of 300 km and can be used to defeat both surface and ground targets.
It can be launched from ships, ground platforms and aircraft carriers. There is no other such universal rocket in the world.
But we have competitors in other segments. For example, the French Exocet missile, which is currently in service with the Indian armed forces. The Chinese have their own original designs. If you compare them with BrahMos, you will see a lot of differences, but in a sense they are still competitors. Turkey - even though it has not updated the development of long-range anti-ship missiles and still manages with shorter-range missiles - is also considered by us as a competitor. And, of course, I can't help but mention the USA, because they claim that they have everything.
Modern conflicts are characterized by the widespread use of rocket weapons, barrage ammunition, guided and unguided projectiles. At the same time, BrahMos can be considered as a relatively expensive weapon system. Is it technically possible to develop a more budget version of this product? Any reliable system is expensive, and BrahMos has proven itself to be a highly reliable missile weapon system that does not require significant maintenance.
When compared with other rockets in the world, it is obvious that they are not even close to BrahMos in their capabilities. There is an opinion that other systems are cheaper, but the reality is that these other systems require more frequent maintenance, which is much more expensive. Despite the higher initial investment, in the long run BrahMos is as cost-effective as any other missile weapon system.
At the same time, we are constantly working to reduce the cost through the use of new technologies and materials. However, everything in this world is only getting more expensive.
What, in your opinion, are the key trends in the global arms market in the BrahMos segment? Can we expect any revolutionary breakthroughs, or will it be limited to evolutionary development? BrahMos is the only supersonic cruise missile designed for use from land, sea and air platforms.
There are other types of tactical missile weapons, but BrahMos is the fastest, deadliest and incredibly versatile system. I think that no other country in the world has such unprecedented capabilities when it comes to possessing the most advanced precision strike weapons.
We are definitely focused on both evolutionary development and revolutionary breakthroughs in the BrahMos program. The evolution of this weapon system continues, thanks to the successful introduction over the past years of many technological and other achievements in order to increase its overall effectiveness. At the revolutionary stage, we will try to design and develop systems of a fundamentally new type in accordance with the technologies of the future.
How is the construction of the new BrahMos production site in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh progressing? Are there any problems with the selection of qualified personnel? How does BrahMos solve personnel problems in general?
We have accelerated work in this direction and hope to complete in full all work related to the construction and installation of equipment for the new production unit in Lucknow by the end of 2024 or early 2025. We express our gratitude to the Government of Uttar Pradesh and all other key agencies and officials involved in this ambitious project for their prompt cooperation and all necessary support in the establishment of this specialized BrahMos production complex.
As for attracting talented specialists for the project, this process is just beginning. There is no shortage of talent or skilled workforce in the state, as some of the best technical and engineering institutes, such as the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), as well as aerospace industry centers, such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), etc. are located here. We are going to attract the best specialists as soon as we start hiring employees at BrahMos.
How did COVID-19 and the Russian special military operation in Ukraine affect BrahMos as an organization? The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly led to a sharp rise in prices.
Prices in the supply chain increased, and we had to compensate for this growth, which slowed down our work. However, we did not raise prices for our customers. The current geopolitical situation that Russia is facing has not affected us in any way. BrahMos fully fulfills its obligations to customers.
Do you think it is possible to repeat the success of the company in cooperation with other countries or in other segments of military production? Why is this not happening? The joint Indian-Russian company Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt Ltd has recently started manufacturing Kalashnikov assault rifles in India and will achieve success in the long term.
It is important to note that BrahMos has become a unique project that successfully combines the technologies and competencies of both the Russian and Indian sides. It is difficult to find another segment of weapons systems, apart from missiles, in which such synergy could be achieved. Perhaps radar technology could become a similar segment, but it is still more correct to consider radar as a subsystem.
In addition, Indian companies feel comfortable producing products under license, since this approach seems to them more reliable.
Another problem may be the lack of interest from the Russian side, because in the case of a joint venture, you lose money that you could earn on direct deliveries.
Does the company plan to expand its business profile and product range beyond the BrahMos family of rockets? We have no plans to diversify our product range.
BrahMos remains an unsurpassed system and the undisputed leader among the world's high-precision strike weapons. Thus, our goal is to maintain the superiority of this powerful system in the distant future.