After optimisation, India's BrahMos missile could achieve Mach 5 speed in four years

India's Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles mounted on a truck are shown in New Delhi

India’s BrahMos missile could reach a speed of Mach 5 in the coming four years, informed Sudhir Mishra, MD and CEO of BrahMos Aerospace.

Speaking with media during the Godrej Aerospace event on Tuesday, Mishra said that this target could be achieved in just four years by optimising the materials and engines of the missile.

According to a report by The Hindu, Mishra said in a couple of years the missile could reach a speed of Mach 3.5 from the existing Mach 2.8.

The BrahMos cruise missile is one of the most important weapons in India’s arsenal. The missile is developed by the BrahMos Airspace, which is a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and NPO Mashinostroyenia of Russia.

Hailed as the fastest cruise missile in the world, the missile can be launched from both land and ship, while the air-launched and submarine-launched variants are still in their testing phase.

Mishra also informed that it will not be possible to reach beyond the speed of Mach 5 with the existing engines on the missile. For this, the agency will require a scramjet (supersonic combustion) engine, whose development may take as much as ten years.

BrahMos Aerospace is already taking steps in this direction and is developing the scramjet independently with the aid of Russian firms.

The country is also making serious attempts to localise the production of the missile which currently relies heavily on Russia.

Godrej Aerospace, which delivered the 100th set of airframe assemblies for use in the missile systems during the event is one key player in the countries' quest to increase localisation.

Associated with programme since its beginning in 2001, the company, which is a unit of Godrej & Boyce is aiming to further improve its output, said Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej & Boyce.