Numerous countries are interested in the cruise missiles, the former director general of the Indo-Russian joint venture has told RT

Russia and India could produce a hypersonic version of the BrahMos cruise missile, Atul Rane, the former director general of BrahMos Aerospace, told RT in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

Rane, who is Moscow, said there are numerous BrahMos variants and that the two countries have been improving them over the years.

"The technology bricks are being laid by the Russian side and the Indian side, and when those technology bricks are fully ready, there will be a BrahMos hypersonic missile someday," Rane said.

The missiles are manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. India's Defense Research and Development Organization has a 50.5% stake in the company, while Russian NPO Mashinostroyenia holds 49.5%.

On Sunday, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh praised the "outstanding role" that BrahMos missiles played in defending his country as part of 'Operation Sindoor' during the military confrontation with Pakistan in May, adding they achieved a "miraculous feat."

In his interview with RT, Rane said, "Till now, officially the government of India has not explained which are the vectors used in Operation Sindoor, but analysis has shown that BrahMos was used and it's almost definite that Operation Sindoor, though we say is still on... the escalation was stopped because BrahMos was used. There's no doubt about that."

Indian Defense Minister Singh stated on Sunday that up to 15 countries have expressed interest in buying the missiles. Commenting to RT, Rane said "everyone is interested in BrahMos," adding that an inter-governmental agreement means the missiles can only be exported to 'friendly' countries acceptable to both Moscow and New Delhi. Southeast Asian countries are seen as a priority market, according to the former BrahMos top executive.

Rane also said the Indo-Russian joint venture is looking at a "smaller version" of the missile to equip aircraft, dubbed the "BrahMos next generation."

(RT.com)