BY : Express News Service The Indian Air Force (IAF) would get its own version of Brahmos — a supersonic cruise missile — by 2012, A Sivanthu Pillai, chief executive officer and managing director, Brahmos Airspace, said on Wednesday. Pillai was addressing media persons after inaugurating IWAPS 2008, a two-day international workshop on ‘Advances in processing of solid propellant rocket motors’ at High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) here as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and centenary celebrations of HEMRL. “Trials and tests will be carried out by 2011 and it is expected to be inducted into the IAF by 2012,†he said, adding that the Army and Navy already had variants of the missile provided by Brahmos Airspace. Stressing on the importance of research in nanotechnology, Pillai, who is also chief controller, R & D (ACE & NS) at DRDO, said the organisation would lay more emphasis on this domain. “Materials such as nano-aluminium, which will augment weight reduction of equipment, will be increasingly used in various defence applications Meanwhile, the DRDO will continue to develop innovative equipment,†he said. Around 300 scientists from several countries will participate in the workshop, which will also discuss futuristic development programmes.
