Indian Navy May Equip Rafale-M with Indigenous BrahMos-NG and NASM-MR Anti-Ship Missiles for Enhanced Range

While the Indian Navy's Rafale M, the carrier-based variant of the Rafale fighter jet, is set to be armed with the French-built Exocet anti-ship missile, concerns about its limited range have prompted the Navy to explore integrating indigenous missiles with greater reach. This move reflects India's growing emphasis on self-reliance in defence and its desire to equip its forces with the most capable weapons systems.

The Exocet missile, despite its proven track record, has a relatively short range of 70 kilometers. This limitation raises concerns about the survivability of Rafale M jets in the face of modern warships equipped with sophisticated, long-range air defence systems. To address this, the Indian Navy is keen to integrate longer-range anti-ship missiles into its Rafale M fleet, specifically the BrahMos-NG and the NASM-MR.

The BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) is a smaller, more agile version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, designed for aircraft deployment. Currently under development for the Indian Air Force, the BrahMos-NG has garnered significant interest from the Indian Navy due to its impressive 290-kilometer range and Mach 3.5 speed. This extended range would allow the Rafale M to engage enemy ships from a safe distance, well beyond the reach of most ship-based air defence systems.

Another indigenous missile under development is the NASM-MR (Medium Range Anti-Ship Missile), specifically designed for naval use. This system, once operational, will offer the Navy a potent anti-ship weapon with improved range and versatility compared to the Exocet. Though still in development, the NASM-MR promises to be a key asset for the Rafale M, providing it with enhanced strike flexibility against a variety of naval targets.

By integrating the BrahMos-NG and NASM-MR alongside the Exocet, the Indian Navy would significantly enhance the anti-ship capabilities of its Rafale M fleet. The indigenous missiles would provide the necessary range to engage adversaries from safer distances, increasing the survivability of the Rafale M and providing a significant advantage in complex naval combat scenarios.

 

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[MKR]

Why are we buying the expensive Rafael for our navy, when to make it "capable " n look good for its shortcomings we have to integrate our Brahmos. We may as well do that with any much much cheaper aircraft . Straight looks like a lot of money is being made . That's why the Navy chief is pushing it

 

[sanket]

Indigenous missiles will give an edge to Rafale M. I have said several times that Exocet is an outdated, short-range anti-ship missile. While the Rafale Air Force version lacks an anti-radiation missile, thanks to BrahMos Aerospace, which is developing BrahMos-NG, a lighter version of the BrahMos missile, and DRDO, who is developing NASM-MR, which will outrange the Exocet missile. That makes indigenous weapons integration important or game-changing on the Rafale platform. So in certain things, Su-30 MKI dominates Rafale. The only thing is the size or RCS factor. Given the short range of Exocet, Rafale can be outranged by naval air defense systems. The Astra BVR family has already started integration on Rafale. I hope more indigenous weapons will be integrated in the future.

 

[tasks discussion]

Will France allow for indigenous integration? I think they charge very high or simply denies.

 

[FIDA INDIA]

Will France allow for indigenous integration? I think they charge very high or simply denies.

Have we tested Brahmos NG from Rafael like we have done from Sukoi?

 

[FIDA INDIA]

While the Rafale Air Force version lacks an anti-radiation missile, thanks to BrahMos Aerospace, which is developing BrahMos-NG, a lighter version of the BrahMos missile

Have we tested Brahmos NG on any aircraft? Is integration trials going on.

 

[Hawk]

Have we tested Brahmos NG on any aircraft? Is integration trials going on.

Testing will begin only from next year end onwards.

 

[Chinese eater]

Last time it was reported that Dassault refused to integrate Indian missile on Rafale. So why now Indian navy hope to put in Indian systems in Rafale M

 

[Anant]

Have we tested Brahmos NG from Rafael like we have done from Sukoi?

We haven't tested the BrahMos NG yet, since it doesn't yet exist. Trials are only planned to start in late 2025 or early 2026. The missile presently carried by some of the Su-30MKIs is the BrahMos A.

 

[Shiva]

From a usability point of view, it seems ideal and good. However, the basic issue is that these three missiles communicate with aircraft using different protocols and use different kinds of data streaming protocols. Moreover, one is purely French/European technology, the second is purely Indo-Russian and BrahMos-based, and the third is purely Indian with Indian streaming systems and satellites. The three missiles use different kinds of signal sources and have different kinds of streaming updates with different sources.

Russian and French technology for communication has never been integrated in history. I am not sure either country will prefer it to be developed in the other country. That is, Russia will not accept BrahMos-NG to be integrated with a French-origin aircraft in France, and France will not accept its integration with a company in which Russia has a share. So, the only option for this is that a new company has to be formed that should be purely Indian. BrahMos-NG has to share existing data communication details of BrahMos-NG, and France has to share its data communication details with the new company. This company has to form two groups of people who will interact with the two companies from the two countries, and then a third group has to develop new hardware that will coordinate with both and also have the flexibility to interact with the third missile.

This third company has to be Indian government-based (definitely cannot be a private company) and has to agree to strict conditions related to the sharing of technology that is satisfactory to both Russia and France. Do you think this kind of thing is possible in the short term? A lengthy diplomatic tussle is ahead. So, why share with the media about these kinds of requirements, especially when other rival parties could unnecessarily interrupt this process, either to prevent it from happening or at least to delay it as long as they can?

I'm not sure why the Indian media is still not mature enough to check if their articles are becoming tools for rival spy agencies.

The other alternative and best practice would be letting Rafael develop hardware that will be purely responsible for data communication with the Exocet missile and interact with the Rafale aircraft. That is, there will be no direct communication between the Rafale aircraft and the Exocet missile. This hardware has to adhere to strict, predefined, and prediscussed communication protocols discussed in advance with an Indian public sector company, which will make a pre-agreement that this hardware technology will not be shared with any other country, including Russia and other countries that are of concern to France.

Similarly, another piece of hardware has to be developed by BrahMos-NG, which will again make a similar agreement with an Indian public company and make a strict agreement not to share this hardware technology with any other country, including France and other countries that are not acceptable to Russia.

Since the two companies have protocol information prior, they will come up with a new communication protocol and new hardware, which will interact with the two pieces of hardware and also come up with a new protocol that can be induced in other hardware that will communicate with Indian missiles.

In this way, it also paves the way for other missile integration technologies with multiple products related to multiple countries that have their own reservations about sharing technology.

 

[PKPRS]

Indigenous missiles will give an edge to Rafale M.

Without Access to Source Code? or paying billions for the Frenchies to add this feature.