Air Weapons: September 26, 2004

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India and Russia are offering the PJ-10 BrahMos cruise missile for sale. The weapon was a joint development project that recently entered service. The PJ-10 can be fired from the air, from ships or submarines. It has a range of 300 kilometers, and a maximum speed of 3,000 kilometers an hour. The high speed makes it harder to intercept, and takes less then ten minutes to reach its target. The air launched version weighs 2.5 tons, the others, three tons. The 29 foot long, 700mm diameter missile has a 500 pound warhead. The PJ-10 is an upgraded version of the Russian SS-NX-26 (Yakhont) missile, which was in development when the Cold War ended. Lacking money to finish development and begin production, the Russian manufacturer made a deal  with India to finish the job. Several successful launches in the last two years have finally completed two decades of development. The PJ-10 is being built in Russia, with India as the initial customer. China and Iran have also expressed interest in the weapon.