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Rezaul H Laskar in New Delhi
India on Wednesday said it planned to deploy a supersonic cruise missile that it had jointly developed with Russian help within the next three years, even as it began work on a new air-to-air missile.
Defence Minister Jaswant Singh said the PJ-10 missile, which was test fired for the first time at a range in Orissa last month, is "expected to enter the production and induction phase within a period of two-three years".
India also planned to develop a new air-to-air missile, named Astra, within the next eight years, Singh said.
"A feasibility study has been undertaken after the completion of which a project for development of the missile is planned to be undertaken."
In written replies to questions in Parliament, Singh said the Indian Navy had identified several ships for being fitted with the PJ-10, which has a range of 280 km and a speed of Mach 2.8 or almost three times the speed of sound.
"It is configured for multiple launch platforms," Singh said, referring to PJ-10's capability of being launched from a variety of platforms, including mobile launchers, ships, submarines and aircraft.
Singh said the induction of the PJ-10 would follow the deployment of the nuclear-capable Agni-II intermediate range ballistic missile, expected to enter service with the armed forces in 2001-02. The indigenously developed Agni-II, which has a range of about 2,500 km, has been test fired twice. The most recent test was conducted in January this year.
The testing of the PJ-10 missile on June 12 marked a major breakthrough in an ongoing Indo-Russian program to produce and market hi-tech military hardware.
The two countries announced that a new joint venture -- BrahMos Private Limited -- would produce and sell weapon systems jointly developed by them in the world arms market.
The PJ-10 is the first product of the Indo-Russian military-technical program that lays emphasis on joint development and production of missiles, submarines, radars and electronic warfare equipment.
The 6.9-metre PJ-10, developed over the past two years, is capable of carrying multiple warheads and can hit a target 280 km away in 300 seconds.
Indo-Asian News Service
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