Dr Jaiteerth Raghavendra Joshi, emminent missile scientist, has been appointed as the new chief of the BrahMos Aerospace. Dr Joshi will assume the charge on December 1, the defence officials said. He will replace Atul Dinkar Rane who was appointed to the post in 2021.
Notably, the BrahMos Aerospace is a joint aerospace and defense corporation of India and Russia. Headquartred in New Delhi, it manufactures cruise missiles. It was founded as a joint venture between the India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
Company's name is a portmanteau formed with the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. The company currently manufactures BrahMos missile which has a range of 800 km and can travel at a speeds of Mach 2.8. Reportedly, the corporation is also developing BrahMos-II, a hypersonic cruise missile.
BrahMos has emerged as a crucial defence equipment for export by India. In January 2022, India and Philipinnes signed a USD 375 million agreement under which New Delhi was to supply three batteries of the missiles, their launchers and related equipment to the Southasian nation. In April this year, India delivered the first batch of weapon system to the Philippines.
