The new unit at Lucknow will be part of the BrahMos joint venture between the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace, based on the Russian cruise missile technology. The name is coined from the names of two rivers – Moskva of Russia and Brahmaputra of India.
Strengthening the country’s defence with supersonic cruise missile manufacturing, the defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Brahmos Unit laying the foundation stone for the manufacturing unit and DRDO lab at Lucknow, on December 26. Speaking at the occasion, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the new BrahMos Manufacturing Unit, part of the existing India-Russia defence collaboration is likely to create 5,500 fresh employment opportunities with the supply chain giving out additional 10,000 job opportunities.
As stated by the officials, the BrahMos project is expected to be spread over 200 acres area which was made available for the prestigious in just one and a half-month. BrahMos missiles will strengthen the defence arsenal of Indian forces, stated Defence Minister Rajnat Singh during the foundation stone laying ceremony. "The missile and defence equipment are not manufactured to attack other countries. Instead, they are to instil the capabilities to defend our own country from attacks. Recognizing the fact that BrahMos is the symbol of our strategic partnership with Russia", said Rajnath Singh.
Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh lays foundation stone for Defence Technology & Test Centre & BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre of DRDO in Lucknow
Exudes confidence that they will play pivotal role in bolstering national security, defence production & economy. https://t.co/xpvy4TspnR pic.twitter.com/WZapYMfSR6
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) December 26, 2021
Notably becoming the partner of Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2017, India and Russia have been into the partnership of developing new generation BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missiles having the range of more than 800 Km with the capacity to hit the target with pinpoint precision. BrahMos is a joint venture between India’s Defense Research Development Organization and Russia’s non-profit organization Mashinostroyeniya resulting in the formation of the multinational defence corporation known as the Brahmos Aerospace.
Based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise missile, BrahMos is the fastest anti-ship cruise missile that is currently serving the defence sector with the land-launched and ship-launched versions. Also, the hypersonic version BrahMos-II is under development, which is expected to be tested by 2024.