Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated BrahMos Aerospace Integration and Testing Facility at the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UP DIC) in Lucknow. The facility will manufacture the next-generation variant of BrahMos missiles and strengthen India’s defence manufacturing capabilities under the AtmaNirbhar Bharat initiative.
Key Highlights
- Facility Name: BrahMos Aerospace Integration and Testing Facility
- Location: Lucknow node of Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor
- Missile Production Capacity:
- 80–100 BrahMos missiles annually
- 100–150 Next-Gen BrahMos missiles annually
- Land Area: 80 hectares (provided free by the UP government)
- Time to Completion: 3.5 years
Additional Infrastructure Inaugurated
- Titanium and Super Alloys Materials Plant
- Also called Strategic Materials Technology Complex
- To manufacture aerospace-grade materials
- Defence Testing Infrastructure System (DTIS)
- Foundation stone laid
- Will test and certify defence products
- Defence Technology & Test Centre (DTTC)
- Spread over 22 acres, cost: ₹300 crore
- Will boost defence manufacturing clusters within UP DIC
About BrahMos Aerospace Integration and Testing Facility
- First-of-its-kind facility focused on the assembly, testing, integration, and production of BrahMos missiles.
- Will also produce the Next-Generation BrahMos (BRAHMOS-NG) missiles.
- BRAHMOS-NG missiles to be delivered within one year.
About BrahMos Missiles
| Parameter | BrahMos (Current) | BrahMos-NG (Next-Gen) |
| Range | 290–400 km | Over 300 km |
| Speed | Mach 2.8 | Supersonic |
| Weight | 2,900 kg | 1,290 kg |
| Platforms | Land, sea, air | Land, sea, air, underwater |
| Launch Capability | Fire-and-forget system | Multi-platform, lighter |
| Developers | BrahMos Aerospace (India-Russia JV: DRDO + NPO Mashinostroyeniya) |
- BrahMos is one of the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world.
- Initially, Sukhoi fighter jets could carry one BrahMos missile; now they can carry up to three BRAHMOS-NG missiles.
- Strategic Importance: BRAHMOS-NG will be lighter, faster, and more versatile compared to the original BrahMos, and can be deployed on a wider range of platforms including fighter jets, submarines, and mobile launchers.
Background
- Initiative: Part of the UP Defence Industrial Corridor, announced during the 2018 Global Investors’ Summit.
- Foundation Stone: Laid in 2021.
- UP Defence Corridor Nodes: Lucknow, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Chitrakoot.
- Purpose:
- Attract major defence investments
- Promote technology transfer (ToT) from DRDO
- Facilitate industry-startup collaboration
- Boost ease of doing business
- Support self-reliant defence production
Strategic Importance
- The facility is part of India’s push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence manufacturing.
- Will bolster India’s capability in advanced missile systems, aerospace-grade materials, and defence testing.
- Aims to transform Lucknow node of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UP DIC) into a missile manufacturing and defence technology hub.