Malaysia is eager to purchase the missile, which was developed in and can be installed in the Russian Sukhoi-30, which the Royal Malaysian Air Force is now flying reports BusinessWorld

Malaysia has expressed interest in the BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) missiles, after the Philippines' USD 374 million purchase of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.

"Another ASEAN member country Malaysia has indicated an interest in the BrahMos-NG," officials said on the sidelines of the recently concluded DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar.

Officials added, “Malaysia is eager to purchase the missile, which was developed in India as part of an Indo-Russian joint venture and can be installed in the Russian Sukhoi-30, which the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is now flying."

The BrahMos NG is lighter, more compact, and smaller and this next-generation missile system can be installed on various platforms and will be manufactured at facilities located in the UP Defence Corridor.

The sale of the Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile to Indonesia is already in process. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will discuss this when he visits Indonesia for the ASEAN conference next month as the agenda of bilateral talks between the leaders of both nations during his meeting with the Indonesian government.

Indonesia already has Su-27 fighter jets and Kilo-class submarines in its fleet, putting the BrahMos supersonic missiles on board will be easy.

Several other countries in South America, including Brazil, West Asian countries and South Africa have expressed interest in the BrahMos-NG version of the missile system.

Countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have expressed interest in the BrahMos-NG air variant, which is estimated to have a 300-kilometre range and is still in development.

About BrahMos-NG

This missile weighs between 1.4 and 1.6 tons has a length of 6 metres and can be fitted with Russian Su-30 fighter jets. The missile was developed in collaboration with an Indo-Russian joint company, BrahMos Aerospace (BAPL) and after multiple testing in various configurations, it was successfully incorporated into the Indian armed forces.

This next-generation missile, which can reach speeds of up to 3.5 Mach, has a range of 290 kilometres and a smaller radar cross-section than previous versions.

Regarding The IAF

The BrahMos-NG, which is currently being designed and built, is to join the Indian Air Force by 2025. These next-generation missile systems could be installed on indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) TEJAS and the Sukhoi Su-30MKI.