India opens new BrahMos missile plant amid growing export demand and regional tensions

The new facility in Lucknow will produce up to 100 missiles a year and aims to strengthen India’s export capacity and military readiness

India’s latest BrahMos missile production facility marks a strategic milestone in its decades-long push for defence self-reliance and increased arms exports, though analysts say it is more a symbol of industrial ambition than a game-changer for the country’s military posture.

The 3 billion rupee (US$36 million) plant in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow, inaugurated virtually on Saturday by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will produce between 80 and 100 supersonic cruise missiles a year.

Launched in 2021, the facility is part of the Defence Industrial Corridor unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2018 Global Investors’ Summit to boost domestic arms production and attract private investment under the government’s “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) programmes.

Singh lauded the BrahMos as among the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world and framed its expansion as part of India’s national security strategy.

“This is not just a weapon; it is a message in itself – a message of the strength of our armed forces, a message of deterrence to our adversaries, and a message of our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our borders,” Singh said, alluding to Pakistan and China without naming them.

Experts note that the facility’s launch comes at a time of heightened friction with both neighbours.

India and Pakistan have seen renewed hostilities following a deadly attack in Kashmir last month, which New Delhi attributed to Pakistan-based militants. Despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced on Saturday, both sides have accused each other of violations, with reports of continued shelling and drone incursions along The Line of Control.

At the same time, tensions with China remain elevated along the disputed Himalayan frontier, with Delhi increasingly wary of Beijing’s deepening military ties with Islamabad – including recent Chinese arms sales that analysts say could shift the regional balance.

Ajey Lele, deputy director at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, said the new BrahMos production facility should be viewed through three lenses: geopolitical strategy, technological development and defence industry expansion.

He noted that the missile system was the product of a two-decade-old India–Russia partnership that had proved to be “a pretty successful project” in terms of technology collaboration.

On the operational front, Lele said the BrahMos gave India a distinct advantage given its speed – nearly three times the speed of sound – and precision. “The impact of this development itself has been great for India,” he said.

BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia, is India’s first defence production partnership of its kind with a foreign government. The Indian government holds a 50.5 per cent stake in the venture, with Russia owning the remaining 49.5 per cent.

The Uttar Pradesh government said the Lucknow factory would serve both national security and economic goals.

“Amid rising India-Pakistan tensions, setting up the BrahMos missile unit in Uttar Pradesh is a major strategic move. It will bolster India’s military strength and position the state as a key contributor to national security and defence-driven development,” it said in a statement.

Indian media have reported that the country has deployed warships armed with BrahMos missiles to the northern Arabian Sea, within 400 miles (643.7km) of Pakistan’s Karachi port.

Lele noted that the missile’s range – about 400km to 500km – aligned with the demands of modern conflict.

“If you see the ongoing conflict [India-Pakistan], everything has been fired beyond usual range, so a missile which can be fired to a distance of 400km-500km is very useful for India’s defence capabilities,” he said.

India also had 230 aircraft capable of launching BrahMos missiles, he added.

Lele also highlighted the commercial value of the missile programme, noting that India’s defence corridors had provided a significant push to develop the domestic industry and, crucially, to enable exports. He said one of the most important aspects of the BrahMos project was that “India can develop something in India and export it also”.

Several Southeast Asian countries had shown interest in the missiles due to their precision, he said, adding that they also offered “a certain amount of deterrence value for the country that possesses these missiles”.

The Ministry of Defence said the 200-acre BrahMos Integration and Testing Facility Centre in Lucknow would house capabilities for integrating booster subassemblies, avionics, propellants and ramjet engines. A programme centre with design and administrative blocks is also planned for the site.

Former Indian diplomat Anil Trigunayat said the BrahMos project reflected India’s growing defence manufacturing capacity and its rising ambitions as an exporter.

“BrahMos has proved its heft and credibility, and many of our friendly countries have shown interest in procuring these. Over time, India’s arsenal will be further specialised and strengthened and will help India develop its comprehensive power and deterrence,” said Trigunayat, who is also a fellow with the Vivekananda International Foundation think tank.

Interest from Southeast Asian countries has grown amid unease over China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea. After the Philippines signed a US$375 million deal for BrahMos missiles in 2022, deliveries began in April this year. Vietnam and Indonesia are in talks over potential contracts worth US$700 million and US$450 million respectively.

These developments align with India’s “Act East” policy, which seeks deeper security and economic ties with Asean states through joint military exercises, training and arms sales.

Atul Kumar, a fellow with the Observer Research Foundation’s strategic studies programme in Delhi, said the BrahMos had emerged as India’s flagship defence export.

Kumar said India’s BrahMos exports to Southeast Asia had strengthened regional security and narrowed the space for China’s “grey-zone” strategy – a term used to describe coercive actions below the threshold of war, such as maritime militia deployments and territorial intimidation.

He noted that some Chinese scholars had labelled the missile a “troublemaker for international security”, reflecting Beijing’s unease over its growing regional footprint.

With demand growing from both Indian and foreign militaries, Kumar said “the production rate of these missiles needs to increase, and the Lucknow plant will help in this regard”.

He said the missiles’ high cost remained a concern, but with multiple production centres and increased localisation of its components, the price was expected to decrease further. The Lucknow plant will also support the future production of the BrahMos NG – a lighter, next-generation variant now under development.

Walter Ladwig, a senior international-relations lecturer at King’s College London, said the BrahMos facility in Uttar Pradesh was a milestone for India’s defence industrial ambitions but “not a game-changer in its military posture”.

“It supports long-term self-reliance goals, but it doesn’t materially shift the balance with Pakistan or China. India already fields BrahMos missiles; this unit is about where they’re built, not how they’re used,” Ladwig said.