By IANS
New Delhi : The land version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that India and Russia have jointly developed will be inducted into the Indian Army here June 21, it was announced Friday.
"We have scheduled a function on June 21 where the missile will he handed over to the army," a defence ministry official said.
Indian Army chief Gen. J.J. Singh will receive the missile in the presence of President A.P.J. Kalam, who had played a key role a decade ago in initiating the India-Russia joint venture for manufacturing the missile.
Kalam was then the head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and scientific advisor to the defence minister.
The naval version of the missile has already been inducted while the air force version is under development.
BrahMos, which operates on a 'fire-and-forget' principle, has a range of nearly 300 km and carries a warhead of 300 kg. It can achieve speeds of up to Mach 2.8.
The missile takes its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. It was first tested Dec 22, 2004. The last test of the missile was conducted on April 22.
BrahMos was developed by a joint venture established in February 1998 between India's DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia. India has a 61 percent stake in the project, with Russia holding 39 percent.