Supersonic Anti-Ship Missile Race Heats Up, BrahMos Faces Mounting Competition

The global landscape of anti-ship missiles is undergoing a significant transformation as multiple countries are actively developing supersonic contenders, posing a potential threat to the long-standing dominance of the BrahMos missile system.

For over two decades, BrahMos, a joint venture between India and Russia, has held the unique distinction of being the world’s sole operational supersonic anti-ship missile. This provided a considerable advantage in a market largely dominated by subsonic alternatives. However, this landscape is rapidly changing, with several nations entering the race to create their own high-speed anti-ship missiles.

Emerging Contenders​

• 3SM Tyrfing: A collaborative project between Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (Norway) and German firms MBDA Deutschland and Diehl Defence is working towards developing the 3SM Tyrfing, a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile.
• Air to Ship Guided Missile 2: South Korea is also entering the fray with its Air to Ship Guided Missile 2, boasting a Mach 2.5 speed and a 300 km range, with its first test flight expected in 2025.
• ASM-3A: Japan is not far behind, developing the ASM-3A, a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile projected to reach Mach 3 speed and a 400 km range, expected to be deployed by 2025.
• Franco-British Project: France, already possessing a nuclear supersonic cruise missile, is collaborating with the UK on a project encompassing both subsonic and supersonic anti-ship missiles, with an estimated operational date of 2030.

The Challenge for BrahMos​

The rise of supersonic anti-ship missile development programs is putting pressure on BrahMos to maintain its competitive edge in the global market. Experts believe that if the DRDO fails to introduce a more advanced variant of BrahMos by 2027, it could lose its unique selling proposition.

This surge in development activity highlights the growing strategic importance of faster, more potent anti-ship missiles. Nations are recognizing the need for high-speed weaponry to overcome increasingly sophisticated defense systems and ensure successful penetration of enemy defenses.

The coming years will be critical in determining which countries emerge as leaders in this rapidly evolving domain. The global anti-ship missile market is poised for significant change, with far-reaching implications for naval warfare and international security.

 

[Bharat007]

India should make Brahmos faster than it is now. No one can be in top spot forever unless one learns to adapt and learn to outsmart others each time.

 

[Ranjeet Singh]

We should buy and make Rafale F-5with MUT and recently tested MBDA latest French hyper sonic air to surface and clear all hurdles to arm 100+ Super Su-30MKI with MBDA missiles !

 

[Pramkumar]

Who are ready to export to other countries

 

[madmax]

we should keep on producing, better and more advanced versions of the missile, regularly and not at 20 year intervals......... otherwise as of now....the missile in its present configuration will become redundant in next 5 years....

 

[Aravind Raveendran]

I can think of only one reason why India hasn't moved on from the success of brahmos and that must be our negligible input in building them. Unless we master the technology it's difficult to upgrade them without Russian help.

 

[MANIVANNAN N]

Brahmos unique liqiud ram jet propulsion tech difficult to learn. Only ruusian having this tech. It makes missile lighter. And indian guidance make it highly accurate. Nobody come near.

 

[LookingBack]

We should buy and make Rafale F-5with MUT and recently tested MBDA latest French hyper sonic air to surface and clear all hurdles to arm 100+ Super Su-30MKI with MBDA missiles !

Just go and ask your France to buy better products from Bharat and shut down their own factories.

 

[Sudha]

I can think of only one reason why India hasn't moved on from the success of brahmos and that must be our negligible input in building them. Unless we master the technology it's difficult to upgrade them without Russian help.

The upgrading is already being done. Hi speed fuel has been mastered, sensors have been mastered. All these will bring down the costs. Moreover the range is being increased to 800 kms (which can't be exported off course due to MTCR restrictions). Competitor products yet to be cleared for production.

 

[Sandeep]

India needs to move quickly and develop the solid fuel ducted ramjet propulsion. This will increase the range of the missile without increasing the weight or size. Currently we are using the very heavy and large Brahmos missile but that can only be used on our Sukhoi jets and only after heavily modifying them. The other option is to develop the Brahmos NG which will be expensive but we can use it on all of our jets.

A easier option is to develop and modify the Rudram MK3 missile and increase the warhead size to increase the damage it can do as it will hit the target at Mach 5 which will cause more damage than the Brahmos hitting it at Mach 3. This missile will allow us to use it on all of our jets which is very important.

 

[abhinav srivastava]

Its 20+ years of tie up now, India should develop better missile indigenously.

 

[Ayyadurai Namasivayam]

Brahmos unique liqiud ram jet propulsion tech difficult to learn. Only ruusian having this tech. It makes missile lighter. And indian guidance make it highly accurate. Nobody come near.

Yes. You are correct. It' is not easy to become master ramjet engines. We should collaborate with other countries. Otherwise it will not be successful. This govt is only concentrating on TOT. which gives lot of issues in defence preparedness of india.

 

[The_rED_dEVIL]

India should make Brahmos faster than it is now. No one can be in top spot forever unless one learns to adapt and learn to outsmart others each time.

BrahMos has a proven range of 800-900 km and its 450 km range variant is under production. The ultimate target range should be 1,500 km (range of other competitors is less than 500 km).

Speed should be increased to Mach 3.5 (or better 4) from current Mach 3.

But there is little news about BrahMos II (hypersonic) and indigenous HSTDV (HyperSonic Tech Demonstrator Vehicle).

 

[Oleg Olkha]

Hmm... https://www.janes.com/osint-insight...bel-to-jointly-produce-lora-missiles-in-india. Air LORA: 1.4-1.6 t. 6-6.5M, ~500 km. A nuclear warhead would be suitable for that... Regards.

 

[Aravind Raveendran]

The upgrading is already being done. Hi speed fuel has been mastered, sensors have been mastered. All these will bring down the costs. Moreover the range is being increased to 800 kms (which can't be exported off course due to MTCR restrictions). Competitor products yet to be cleared for production.

We need to increase the speed too