Two IAF Su-30MKIs are being modified by HAL at its Nashik facility for integration with the aerial launcher.

With a top speed of Mach 2.8 and range of 290 km (180 mi.), the missile can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg (660 lb.) and engage targets at an altitude as low as 10 meters at nearly three times the speed of the U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile.

The two-stage missile already has been inducted into the Army and Navy. A submarine launch version is in the final stages of trial.

India recently asked Russia to induct the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles into its naval fleet to further strengthen the joint venture between the two countries.

In October, the Indian government had cleared a proposal worth over $1.2 billion for purchasing, testing and integration of at least 200 BrahMos missile on the Russian-made Su-30MKI aircraft in the IAF fleet.

India and Russia discussed the deal during the Dec. 24 visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi.

An agreement also was signed among BrahMos Aerospace, Russian Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi Design Bureau to develop the air-launched version of the missile.

Founded in 1998, BrahMos Aerospace Ltd., a joint venture between India’s Defense Research and Development Organization and a Russian military consortium, builds the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile based on the Russian-designed NPO Mashinostroyenie 3M55 Yakhont.