Beyond BrahMos: India builds next generation of cheap precision weapons
India's Defence Research and Development Organisation is developing cost-effective, turbine-powered glide bombs to supplement expensive cruise missiles. By upgrading systems like the Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon, the Indian Air Force aims to maintain high-precision strike capabilities while reducing operational costs during prolonged conflicts.
Why it matters
This shift reflects a global military trend toward prioritizing sustainable, mass-producible precision munitions over high-cost, low-inventory systems in modern attrition-based warfare.
The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia have demonstrated the need for deep stocks of precision weapons. The sophistication of these advanced systems is directly reflected in their cost. Militaries are increasingly adopting precision-guided weapons because of their ability to engage targets from stand-off ranges with high accuracy.India's use of BrahMos and SCALP cruise missiles to strike targets across Pakistan is a good example of this capability. However, this effectiveness comes at a literal price.As conflicts, as seen in Ukraine and West Asia, are now measured in months and years rather than days or weeks, sustained use of such expensive weapons becomes increasingly prohibitive. One answer to this challenge is the use of comparatively inexpensive munitions such as glide bombs.
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