Heavy Engineering Corporation may build parts for BrahMos

Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) here is all set to manufacture components for the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos. The country's biggest integrated engineering complex is in the final round of talks with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and is likely to bag the order early this year, said B K Sharma, general manager (marketing) at HEC on Monday.

HEC will build the aluminium chassis of the 10m-long supersonic cruise missile that can strike from air, sea and land to hit a target over 290km away. Sources said the company is also planning to build BrahMos's engine components at its sprawling facility on the fringes of the capital.

A joint aerospace programme between India and Russia, BrahMos is a supersonic stealth cruise missile that has a flight altitude of 15km and can carry a payload of 300kg, including a nuclear warhead. The missile was inducted into the Indian Navy and Army in 2006 and is undergoing trials for its introduction in the Air Force. The advanced version of BrahMos, a hypersonic stealth cruise that can notch up the speed to Mach 7, is being development.

The supersonic cruise missile's speed ranges between Mach 2.5 and Mach 2.8 and is around three-and-a-half times faster than the American subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile. "BrahMos will be a great project to work on if it comes our way," said Verma.

HEC in the past had supplied equipment to the defence sector with its last being a launching platform of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-3 that was launched from Sriharikota on December 18 last year.

The cash-strapped company, which is fighting odds to overcome the sick industry status, had stopped payments to its 5,000-odd employees for over two months last year. It has also tabled a request to the industries ministry for raising the ceiling of its working capital to Rs 500 crore, but the request is yet to be approved. "The company's financial condition will not be a hindrance to the project if it comes our way," a top official said, requesting anonymity.