Chennai: The man behind the supersonic, one-of-its-kind BrahMos missile has underscored the need to give greater thrust in developing hypersonic missiles in the country. Although, the Defence and Research Development Corporation (DRDO), in collaboration with Russia, is in the process of developing a hypersonic variant of BrahMos, Dr A. Sivathanu Pillai, the founder CEO and MD of BrahMos Aerospace and former chief controller, R&D, DRDO, said at present, ‘thrust’ or push is lacking. But he said it was necessary in the light of other countries pressing ahead with their plans to develop such missiles.

Presently, the supersonic BrahMos reaches speeds of up to 3,600 km per hour, and is a world leader in the cruise missile category. “Its speed, precision and power remains unmatched. But future war scenarios will need much faster missiles. Missiles that can deliver the load at a speed double of the present will be needed,” Dr Pillai told Deccan Chronicle in an exclusive interaction.

Noting that the future would be a ‘hypersonic’ regime, Mr Pillai, who was recently conferred with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award by President Pranab Mukherjee for outstanding contribution to missile and aerospace technology, said, “Other countries such as the United States, China and Australia have long started work and have conducted experiments. The relative advantage that we have presently over other countries due to BrahMos won’t last long.”

Though design processes have been completed, the focus needs to be on fine-tuning propulsion technology, alternatively the Scramjet engine, to enable such high speeds, he added. A concept that excites Dr Pillai is the reusable hypersonic missile or the Sudarshan Chakra. “Imagine if a hypersonic missile delivers its payload at a designated target and flies back to the launching base, only to be reused again? Such a platform is extremely cost-effective and n-times more lethal,” he said.