10-10-2007, 06:09 AM
India Ready To Sell Supersonic Brahmos Missile To Malaysia
October 04, 2007
NEW DELHI - India is ready to sell to Malaysia the supersonic Brahmos missile that is being produced under a joint venture with Russia.
Brahmos Aerospace Private Ltd's chief executive officer Dr A. Sivathanu Pillai said India would only sell the sophisticated missiles to countries that are friendly and those considered as strategic partners in India's security equation.
"We have made a list of countries which are interested in our product and those with the defence budget to spend. In that list, definitely Malaysia is one of them because we have seen the interest shown by the country at our exhibitions in Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur," he said.
"So we are in a good understanding but this is not sufficient. What is needed is that the government of Malaysia should write officially to the government of India to form a strategic partnership," he told Bernama in an interview at Brahmos' headquarters here.
Indian and Russian scientists have designed and developed the cruise missile which is said to be three times faster and more accurate in hitting enemy targets than the American-made subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.
The missile, with the acronym Brahmos derived from India's Brahamputra River and Moscow River, comes from a joint venture between India's reputable Defence Research and Development Organisation and Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
The project had started in 1998 and the first missile was test-fired in 2001.
Following that, at least six other tests were carried out without any flaw discovered.
The versatile missile can be launched from multiple platforms -- land, sea, sub-sea and air. It can also be installed on the Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet.
Malaysia had purchased 18 Russian-made Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft in 2003.
The Brahmos missile, primarily an anti-ship missile, is capable of carrying warheads of up to 660 pounds and easily reach enemy target at a distance of 290 kilometres.
"We sell weapons to create strategic relationships, and both countries become very dependent when an important weapon is sold. I sincerely hope that Brahmos is going to build very strong relationships between India and many other countries," Pillai said.
Industry sources said that besides Malaysia, countries like Chile, Kuwait, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates have expressed interest in the Indian-Russian-made missile.
At least 1,000 of these high supersonic missiles are expected to be sold to friendly countries and the first export could be next year.
October 04, 2007
NEW DELHI - India is ready to sell to Malaysia the supersonic Brahmos missile that is being produced under a joint venture with Russia.
Brahmos Aerospace Private Ltd's chief executive officer Dr A. Sivathanu Pillai said India would only sell the sophisticated missiles to countries that are friendly and those considered as strategic partners in India's security equation.
"We have made a list of countries which are interested in our product and those with the defence budget to spend. In that list, definitely Malaysia is one of them because we have seen the interest shown by the country at our exhibitions in Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur," he said.
"So we are in a good understanding but this is not sufficient. What is needed is that the government of Malaysia should write officially to the government of India to form a strategic partnership," he told Bernama in an interview at Brahmos' headquarters here.
Indian and Russian scientists have designed and developed the cruise missile which is said to be three times faster and more accurate in hitting enemy targets than the American-made subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile.
The missile, with the acronym Brahmos derived from India's Brahamputra River and Moscow River, comes from a joint venture between India's reputable Defence Research and Development Organisation and Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
The project had started in 1998 and the first missile was test-fired in 2001.
Following that, at least six other tests were carried out without any flaw discovered.
The versatile missile can be launched from multiple platforms -- land, sea, sub-sea and air. It can also be installed on the Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet.
Malaysia had purchased 18 Russian-made Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft in 2003.
The Brahmos missile, primarily an anti-ship missile, is capable of carrying warheads of up to 660 pounds and easily reach enemy target at a distance of 290 kilometres.
"We sell weapons to create strategic relationships, and both countries become very dependent when an important weapon is sold. I sincerely hope that Brahmos is going to build very strong relationships between India and many other countries," Pillai said.
Industry sources said that besides Malaysia, countries like Chile, Kuwait, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates have expressed interest in the Indian-Russian-made missile.
At least 1,000 of these high supersonic missiles are expected to be sold to friendly countries and the first export could be next year.