Operation Sindoor: How Kalam’s 1993 Russia visit sparked BrahMos missile project

India’s highly successful BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system, recently reported to have played a key role during the May 7–10 conflict with Pakistan, traces its roots back to a pivotal visit to Russia in 1993. Then DRDO chief and later President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, had travelled to Moscow to explore technological collaborations. During this visit, he encountered a half-completed supersonic combustion engine, abandoned due to funding issues after the Soviet Union’s collapse.

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This encounter planted the seeds for a major defence collaboration between India and Russia. By 1998, a formal agreement was signed by India’s Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM), resulting in the formation of BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture. India holds a 50.5% stake in the company, while Russia owns 49.5%.

BrahMos Aerospace was tasked with the complete lifecycle of the supersonic cruise missile — from design to production and export. The venture secured its first funding in July 1999, with India and Russia contributing $126.25 million and $123.75 million, respectively. Work began that same year, spread across advanced research labs in both nations.

Today, BrahMos stands as a symbol of strategic defence cooperation and technological innovation, known globally as the only operational supersonic cruise missile system.