New BrahMos unit at Lucknow to produce 100-150 missiles in a year - 10 Points

Amid the fiercest military standoff with Pakistan, India on Sunday saw inauguration of BrahMos production unit in Uttar Pradesh capital city Lucknow. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated the unit which has a capacity of manufacturing around 150 missiles annually. The supersonic weapon, which was used by the Indian armed forced during Operation Sindoor destroyed key airbases in the heart of Pakistan. The unit\, which is part of defence corridor programme will help the country in ramping up the firepower. Here are top ten key points that you need to know about the significance of this development.

1. Inauguration by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated the BrahMos Aerospace Integration and Testing Facility in Lucknow on Sunday. The facility is part of the ambitious Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor.

2. Strategic Location Within a Defence Hub

The unit is located in Lucknow, one of the six key nodes of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor, which also includes Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, and Chitrakoot.

3. What BrahMos Is

BrahMos is a universal, supersonic, precision-strike cruise missile capable of being launched from land, air, and sea. Known for its all-weather, day-night operability, it has already undergone over 100 successful test firings.

4. Production Capacity

Initially, the Lucknow facility will produce 80 to 100 BrahMos missiles per year, with plans to ramp up to 100–150 next-generation (NG) variants annually.

5. Next-Gen Missile Capability

The new BrahMos NG is significantly lighter (1,290 kg vs. the original 2,900 kg), allowing aircraft like the Sukhoi Su-30MKI to carry up to three missiles instead of just one — a major boost in firepower.

6. Impressive Speed & Range

BrahMos missiles manufactured here will have a range of 290–400 km and can travel at Mach 2.8 (approximately 3,430 km/h), making them among the fastest in the world.

7. Advanced Technology

The missile uses a "fire and forget" guidance system, enabling high-precision, multi-target strikes without requiring further input once launched.

8. Joint Venture with Russia

BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture between India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, representing one of the strongest defence collaborations between the two nations.

9. Massive Infrastructure Investment

Built at a cost of ₹300 crore, the facility spans 80 hectares of land provided free of cost by the Uttar Pradesh government. Construction began in 2021 and was completed in just 3.5 years.

10. More Than Just a Missile Plant

The site also includes the Strategic Materials Technology Complex, which will produce titanium and aerospace-grade materials.

•A new Defence Testing Infrastructure System (DTIS) facility will be set up here to test and certify defence equipment.