Beyond Supersonic: India unveils BrahMos-II, a new age of Hypersonic warfare

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised India’s home-grown weapons used during Operation Sindoor, saying they proved how strong and self-reliant the country has become. Speaking at a public event in Varanasi on Saturday, August 2nd, he said that India’s air defence systems successfully stopped enemy drones and missiles. He also announced that the powerful BrahMos missiles, which played a key role in the operation, will soon be manufactured in Lucknow—marking a major step forward for the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.

The next-generation version of the BrahMos missile, which is jointly developed by India and Russia, will be produced at the recently opened BrahMos manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh. This new factory has been selected to build the upgraded missiles in large numbers and will soon begin full-scale production. According to reports, Russia has offered full technical assistance to India to co-develop the new BrahMos-II missile.

Early discussions between both countries have already started, aiming to strengthen defence ties and technological cooperation. India is now fast-tracking the development of this next-generation missile, BrahMos-II, after the successful use of the current BrahMos missile to destroy terrorist and military targets in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor in May 2025. This move marks a big step forward for India’s missile programme and follows major progress made by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in developing advanced scramjet engine technology.

Understanding Scramjet Technology

Scramjet is a special kind of engine that allows missiles or aircraft to fly at extremely high speeds—more than five times the speed of sound. It works by using air from the atmosphere to burn fuel, so it doesn’t need to carry oxygen like a rocket engine. This makes the missile lighter and faster, allowing it to travel long distances quickly. BrahMos-II is being jointly developed by India and Russia under BrahMos Aerospace. It is designed to fly between Mach 6 and Mach 8—that’s 7,200 to 9,600 km per hour—and can strike targets up to 1,500 kilometers away. It will use a scramjet engine, which is faster and more advanced than the ramjet engine used in the current BrahMos missile. Its design is said to be based on Russia’s 3M22 Zircon missile, which also uses scramjet technology and can reach speeds of Mach 9.

Understanding Ramjet and Scramjet Engines – The Power Behind BrahMos Missiles

India’s BrahMos missiles are among the fastest weapons in the world, and their high speed comes from two advanced types of engines—ramjet and scramjet. Unlike normal engines that use spinning parts, these engines use the missile’s own speed to pull in air, mix it with fuel, and burn it to create thrust. This makes the missile move even faster. Both ramjet and scramjet engines need the missile to already be moving at high speed before they can start working. This is why BrahMos missiles are launched with a booster at first, just like giving a push-start to an old scooter. The ramjet engine, used in the current BrahMos, works by slowing down the incoming air before mixing it with fuel and burning it. This engine allows the missile to fly at speeds of Mach 3 to Mach 4—that’s about 3,600 to 4,800 km/h. To give an idea, a regular passenger plane flies at about 900 km/h, so the BrahMos is four to five times faster. At that speed, the missile can travel from Delhi to Mumbai in just 17 minutes. The scramjet engine, which will power BrahMos-II, is even more advanced. Unlike the ramjet, it does not slow down the air at all. It burns the fuel while the air is still moving at super-high speeds. This is a big engineering challenge—like trying to light a match in a storm—but it makes the missile much faster. A scramjet can push a missile to speeds of Mach 6 to Mach 8—that's 7,200 to 9,600 km/h. At Mach 8, BrahMos-II could travel from Delhi to Mumbai in only 8 to 9 minutes.

Why Speed Matters

Higher speed means enemy defences have less time to detect, track, or stop the missile. A missile flying at Mach 8 gives just a few minutes of warning, making it nearly impossible to intercept. Faster missiles also reach targets sooner, giving military planners more options during operations. Creating a scramjet engine is one of the toughest engineering tasks. Scientists must solve problems like how to inject and burn fuel in air moving faster than sound, and how to build materials that can survive the extreme heat. Only a few countries in the world have this technology. India joining that group with BrahMos-II is a major scientific and defence success.

India’s Technological Leap

The shift from BrahMos (with ramjet) to BrahMos-II (with scramjet) shows India’s rise in missile technology. The current BrahMos is already one of the fastest cruise missiles in the world. The upcoming BrahMos-II will place India in the elite group of nations with hypersonic missile capability. This progress also helps in other areas, such as space research, aircraft technology, and materials science. In simple terms, both ramjet and scramjet are amazing engines that use the missile’s own speed to breathe air and burn fuel. But scramjet is built for extreme speeds, and BrahMos-II will show India’s ability to master this advanced technology.

BrahMos-II Development History and Challenges

The BrahMos-II project was first announced in 2008 but faced many delays. One major reason was the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which earlier prevented Russia from sharing missile technology with ranges over 300 km. This issue was resolved after India joined the MTCR in 2016. Still, the project was slowed by technical challenges and high development costs. The project regained focus recently as many countries began racing to develop hypersonic weapons. To stay ahead, India is now strengthening its partnership with Russia to speed up BrahMos-II’s development and improve its overall missile power.

Current BrahMos Missile Capabilities

The BrahMos missile is currently used by all three branches of the Indian Armed Forces—Army, Navy, and Air Force. It is the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile in operation today, flying at Mach 3.5 (around 4,300 km/h), and can strike targets between 290 to 800 kilometers away. In Operation Sindoor, the missile successfully destroyed all its targets using fire-and-forget technology, meaning once it is launched, it can find and hit the target on its own.

BrahMos-II: Expected Features (Made Simple)

Speed: Can fly 6 to 8 times faster than sound Range: Can hit targets up to 1,500 km away Engine: Will use a scramjet engine for ultra-high speed Design influence: Inspired by Russia’s Zircon missile Weight: Around 1.33 tonnes (about half the weight of the air-launched BrahMos-A) Platform compatibility: Likely to be used with India’s LCA Tejas Mk 2 fighter jet In a major breakthrough, DRDO successfully tested a scramjet engine component in April 2025 for over 1,000 seconds. This test marked a turning point, showing that India is now ready to join the hypersonic missile league.

(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. Contact: girishlinganna@gmail.com)

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own and do not reflect those of DNA)