By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Defence Minister A.K.Antony will launch the second phase of cruise missile maker Brahmos Aerospace’s development programme here Feb 10, Kerala Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem Saturday said.
He told reporters that the development programme included investment worth Rs.1.25 billion) by BrahMos at their existing unit here.
“They (BrahMos) have requested eight acres of land adjacent to their existing unit, which is now occupied by the Southern Air Command. They have also asked us to provide another 50 acres of land for their next phase and we have already identified two places, both in the capital district itself,” the minister said.
In the first phase, BrahMos had announced a total investment of Rs.1.25 billion at the existing campus of state public sector unit Keltec, which it had taken over December 2007.
Of this, Rs.750 million was invested by the BrahMos organisation while the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) were to contribute Rs.250 million each.
Named after the Brahmaputra and Moskova rivers, the missile is capable of being launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or from land. It is about three times faster than the US subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile and has the capability to attack surface targets as low as 10m in altitude and has a maximum range of 290 km.
The missile programme is a joint venture between India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed the BrahMos Corp. Currently, the assembly of the state-of-the-art missile takes place at the BrahMos unit in Hyderabad.