The culmination of the ‘Silver Jubilee Year’ celebration of the India-Russia joint venture entity, BrahMos Aerospace, took place on Monday, with the presence of the company’s founder CEO and Managing Director, AS Pillai.
Addressing a gathering of BrahMos scientists, engineers, and staff members, Pillai proudly stated, “With the Brahmos program, we have demonstrated to the world that India was the first country to possess a supersonic cruise missile system.”
India has thus shattered what former President and “Missile Man” of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, referred to as the “Fifth Nation Syndrome.” Kalam, the founder CEO of BrahMos, played a crucial role in the military-technology partnership program between India and Russia.
Reflecting on the numerous milestones achieved by the joint venture since its establishment on February 12th, 1998, followed by the successful maiden launch of the supersonic Brahmos on June 12, 2001, Pillai emphasised that the thought process behind creating an organisation like BrahMos was entirely unique.
In light of the current geopolitical volatility, Pillai likened Brahmos to the “Brahmastra” of the 21st century and stated, “In a democracy, only a strong nation can advocate peace. And a powerful weapon like Brahmos provides strength to India in promoting peace worldwide.”
Pillai also commended the efforts of BrahMos Aerospace in developing more advanced variants of BRAHMOS, including the BRAHMOS
Next-Generation (NG) and hypersonic BRAHMOS.