New Delhi: BrahMos Aerospace positioned its supersonic cruise missile as a flagship of India's defence-export ambitions, with Managing Director and CEO Dr Jaiteerth R. Joshi highlighted the system's combat experience, expanding production capacity and next-generation variants as the company sought to widen its international footprint.
In an interview reported by Moneycontrol on October 22, Joshi said that BrahMos is emerging as a leading component of India's military exports, with export earnings expected to cross $600 million. The missile, jointly developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, has gained further international attention following its reported operational deployment during Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
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“The BrahMos success story at the exports frontier started even before the weapon was combat-tested in 2025,” Joshi said, according to the report, adding that the missile's performance during Operation Sindoor has strengthened its position in the international market.
BrahMos has already secured an export contract with the Philippines, signed in 2022, marking a significant milestone for India's high-end defence exports. The company is now looking to expand its presence in Southeast Asia, with Joshi indicated that agreements involving two additional countries have been signed this year, according to the report.
India's broader defence-export performance provided the backdrop to this expansion. Defence exports reached a record ₹38,424 crore in the financial year 2025–26, registering growth of approximately 62.7 per cent over the previous year's ₹23,622 crore, according to figures cited by the Ministry of Defence.
BrahMos is significant within this growth because it represents a complex, high-value strategic system rather than a conventional defence component. Its export potential also reflected India's efforts to move beyond supplying relatively simpler military equipment towards offering advanced missile systems to international partners.
To meet the requirements of the Indian Armed Forces and potential overseas customers, BrahMos Aerospace is strengthening its production ecosystem and supplier network.
Joshi said that facilities in Hyderabad, Nagpur, Pilani and Lucknow are working to fulfil existing orders. The company also aimed to broaden the number of suppliers supporting its component requirements, potentially increasing the network from one or two sources to as many as 45.
A wider supplier base could improve production resilience, encourage competition on quality and pricing, and support higher manufacturing volumes as demand grows.
The company is also pursuing greater domestic participation in critical missile components. In June 2026, Joshi said production partnerships were being expanded for components such as boosters and warheads, alongside efforts to increase indigenous content and reduce costs
These efforts are important to sustaining export growth while reducing supply-chain constraints and strengthening India's domestic missile-manufacturing capabilities.
Alongside production expansion, BrahMos Aerospace is advancing the next-generation BrahMos-NG programme.
The smaller, lighter and more compact missile is intended to expand deployment options, particularly for aircraft that face payload and space constraints with the existing system.
Joshi said that the company expected to develop a prototype by 2027 or 2028. The programme involved additional research and development, greater indigenous content, advanced materials and new technologies.
The next-generation variant is expected to strengthen the missile family's operational flexibility, although its development and testing milestones will determine the timeline for eventual induction.
BrahMos Aerospace is also exploring a longer-range variant with a proposed range of up to 1,500 km. According to Joshi, the programme is being pursued in phases, with further upgrades under discussion with the Russian joint-venture partner.
The 1,500-km variant remains at the conceptual stage and should not be confused with an operational missile or an established production programme. Any future capability will depend on development, testing and the decisions taken by the joint venture
The expansion of BrahMos reflected two parallel priorities for India's defence sector: strengthening the domestic industrial base and building an international market for advanced military technologies.
For BrahMos Aerospace, the challenge is to balance existing orders for the Indian Armed Forces with new export commitments, while developing future variants and increasing the domestic contribution to production.
The missile's combat experience, established operational use across multiple launch platforms and growing manufacturing ecosystem provided the foundation for its export ambitions. However, the pace of future growth will depend on confirmed international contracts, production capacity and the successful development of new variants.
As India sought to increase its share of the global defence market, BrahMos is emerging as a prominent example of how joint development, domestic manufacturing and export-oriented production can support the country's wider defence-industrial objectives.
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