GlobalData : India’s strategic goals and military position in IOR to benefit from successful testing of Brahmos cruise missiles, says GlobalData

20 Apr 2022
India's strategic goals and military position in IOR to benefit from successful testing of Brahmos cruise missiles, says GlobalData Posted in Aerospace, Defense & Security

Following the news that Indian Navy and Indian Air Force (IAF) have successfully tested different variants of Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles from INS Delhi Destroyer and Su-30 MKI fighter;

Chandan Kumar Nayak, Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

"Over the last few years, India has started to put greater emphasis on developing weapon systems with higher accuracy and greater operational reliability. The Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has increased its military spending to facilitate the refurbishing of existing naval platforms and fighter aircraft with highly precise missiles. GlobalData expects these efforts to be beneficial for India's strategic goals and will help India to maintain its military position in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

"In addition to the existing tensions in the region, the war between Russia and Ukraine triggered other countries across the world to re-assess their military assets for hitherto unforeseen scenarios. For the Indian MoD, it prompted them to hasten their capability building and modernization plans including a reliance on indigenous technologies.

"As a part of modernization initiatives, India has started testing its Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles from the recently upgraded destroyer, INS Delhi, and Su-30 MKI aircraft. Post the completion of testing, it offers the possibility of equipping the Su-30 MKI aircraft with the missile for all future military operations and exercises.

"While the efforts of the Indian government to increase the capabilities of its armed forces are commendable, however there are questions marks with regards to the complete indigenization of the Brahmos missile. These ongoing tests may suggest that such modernization efforts maybe in favor with Indian MoD, and it feels that the availability of Russian parts for the Brahmos won't be hindered in the future due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine."