'BrahMos can be given to Pakistan for free': Father of BrahMos once had a witty reply to a Pak Army official

Dr Apathukatha Sivathanu Pillai, former chief controller, R&D, DRDO and founder CEO and MD of BrahMos Aerospace, the joint venture between India and Russia that developed the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, once had a humorous interaction with a senior Pakistan Army official.

 

According to media reports, during a podcast, the renowned scientist—regarded as the 'Father of BrahMos'—spoke about an instance when he was asked by a Pakistan Army official if the missile could be sold to the latter's country. The incident reportedly happened on the sidelines of an international arms expo in Dubai.

 

"For Pakistan, it would for free of cost," came the tongue-in-cheek response from Pillai.

ALSO READ: Indian embassy clarifies after Indian Navy captain's shocking claims on fighter jet losses during Operation Sindoor

Pillai, a Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan recipient, is hailed for his excellent leadership qualities as the founder CEO and MD of Brahmos Aerospace from 10095 to 2014. "His outstanding leadership qualities, as CEO & MD of Brahmos Aerospace, made India proud to possess the fastest, highly precise and the most potent missile BRAHMOS which is now inducted in multiple platforms, in all the three services of Indian Armed Forces," according to brahmos.com.

 

BrahMos missile played a crucial role in India's military offensive against Pakistan Operation Sindoor, in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack in April which killed 26 people. Recently, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had called the missile a "confluence of top defence technologies of India and Russia."

 

With a flight range of up to 290 kilometres with supersonic speed all through the flight, the 'fire and forget' missile system has been integrated across multiple domains of the Indian armed forces.

Defence