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40 IAF Su-30MKI Jets Now Armed With BrahMos Missiles: India’s Big Long-Range Strike Boost
India’s air force just got much stronger. About 40 Indian Air Force (IAF) Su-30MKI fighter jets can now carry the BrahMos missile. A missile is a flying weapon that hits a target. BrahMos is a cruise missile. A cruise missile is a weapon that flies low and steers itself to hit a target far away. BrahMos is also supersonic. Supersonic means it flies faster than the speed of sound. Now these jets can hit enemy targets on land or at sea from hundreds of kilometres away. And the jets stay far from danger while doing it. BrahMos Aerospace, the company that builds the missile, confirmed this news in June 2026.
What exactly happened?
About 40 Su-30MKI jets can now carry a special BrahMos missile. It is the version that is fired from the air. The Su-30MKI is a fighter jet with two engines. It can do many jobs in battle. Russia’s Sukhoi company designed it. In India, a government company called Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) builds it. HAL is allowed to build it under a special deal called a licence. A licence is permission from the owner to make their product. The IAF has about 270 of these jets. So 40 armed jets is a big share.
Alexander Maksichev is a co-director at BrahMos Aerospace. A co-director is one of the people who help lead the company. He confirmed the number of 40 jets. He also said the job is not done yet. More jets are being changed to carry the missile. This took years of testing and work. That is because adding a heavy missile to a jet is not easy.
Why the air-launched BrahMos is special
Two groups build BrahMos together. One is India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). DRDO is India’s main team for building weapons and military gear. The other is a Russian company called NPO Mashinostroyenia. The land version of the missile weighs about 3 tonnes. A tonne is 1,000 kilograms. That is too heavy to hang under a jet. So engineers made a lighter one. It weighs about 2.5 tonnes. They used a smaller booster. A booster is the part that gives the missile its first push. They also added fins to help it stay steady. And they moved parts around to make it lighter.
The new missile can be fired from the air at very high speed. BrahMos flies at supersonic speed, almost three times the speed of sound. It is very fast and flies low. So it is very hard for an enemy to shoot it down. There is also a newer version with extended range. Extended range means it can travel even farther. This lets the jets hit targets deep inside enemy land.
Key facts
| Item | Detail (as reported) |
|---|---|
| Su-30MKI jets now armed | Around 40 |
| Total IAF Su-30MKI fleet | About 270 aircraft |
| Air-launched BrahMos weight | About 2.5 tonnes (vs ~3 tonnes for land version) |
| Speed | Supersonic, close to Mach 3 (about 3x the speed of sound) |
| Extended-range strike reach | Reported close to 450 km |
| Built by | BrahMos Aerospace (DRDO + Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia) |
| Jet built in India by | Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) |
| Planned total armed jets | 60 (another 20 to be modified) |
What comes next?
The IAF wants to add the extended-range BrahMos to 20 more Su-30MKI jets. That would make about 60 jets that can carry the missile. Reports say a new squadron with these missiles could be ready in the next few years. A squadron is a group of military planes that fly and fight together as one team.
Why it matters (especially for India)
This upgrade makes India’s deterrence stronger. Deterrence means having weapons so strong that an enemy is scared to attack. Now 40 jets can fire BrahMos from far away. So India can hit targets deep inside enemy land or out at sea. And its pilots stay safe while doing it.
There is also a “Make in India” side to this. “Make in India” is the country’s plan to build more things at home. HAL puts the Su-30MKI together in India. And Indian scientists helped create BrahMos. So a lot of this firepower is home-made. For Indian business owners and engineers who work in defence and space, this is good news. It shows that India’s market for advanced military tools is growing. India also wants to depend less on other countries for its weapons. This goal is linked to its bigger money and trade plans. You can read more in our coverage of India-US trade talks and PM Modi’s Seychelles visit on maritime and defence cooperation.
FAQ
How many Su-30MKI jets have BrahMos missiles now?
About 40 jets. BrahMos Aerospace confirmed this in June 2026. The IAF plans to raise this to about 60.
How fast is the BrahMos missile?
It flies at supersonic speed, almost three times the speed of sound. It is very fast and flies low. This makes it very hard to stop in the air.
Who makes the BrahMos missile?
BrahMos Aerospace makes it. It is a team-up between India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia. A team-up like this is called a joint venture.
The bottom line
Adding BrahMos to 40 Su-30MKI jets gives India a strong way to strike far away from the air. More jets are being upgraded. And longer-range missiles are coming. So the IAF is slowly building a force that can hit far, hit fast, and keep its pilots safe.
Source: Financial Express and BrahMos Aerospace.
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