New Delhi [India], May 11 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the BrahMos Aerospace Integration and Testing Facility in Lucknow today.

As per the Defence Minister's Office, Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the facility at around 11 am.

'At around 11.00 AM today, 11th May, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh will virtually inaugurate the BrahMos Aerospace Integration and Testing Facility in Lucknow,' the post said.

Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for the Defence Technology & Test Centre and BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre, established by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on December 26, 2021.

According to an official release, a first-of-its-kind Defence Technologies & Test Centre (DTTC), over approximately 22 acres, is set up to accelerate the growth of the defence and aerospace manufacturing clusters in Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UP DIC).

The BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre, announced by BrahMos Aerospace, is a modern, state-of-the-art facility in the Lucknow node of UP DIC. It covers over 200 acres and produces the new BRAHMOS-NG (Next Generation) variant, which carries forward the lineage of the BRAHMOS weapons system.

The state-of-the-art Defence Technologies & Test Centre is set up to implement the MoU exchanged between Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) and DRDO during DefExpo-2020 at Lucknow in the presence of the Defence Minsiter and the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

It will facilitate industries through establishing a centralised state-of-the-art technology infrastructure, which will accelerate the product development and reduce the induction time & the turnaround time for the futuristic systems development through its six subcentres. This unique setup will act as a bridge for Industries & Startups to grasp the DRDO's IPRs, Patents & ToTs. It will extend holistic handholding to Industries, Startups & Academia in UP DIC. It will promote the growth of Industries & Startups in UPDIC and Ease of Doing Business and contribute to building an AtmaNirbhar Bharat.

The release stated that the BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile system is one of the most successful missile programmes in the world. India has undertaken jointly in partnership with its closest strategic ally Russia.

As the world's best and fastest precision-guided weapon, BRAHMOS has fortified India's deterrence power in the 21st century. Designed and developed by the India-Russia JV entity BrahMos Aerospace, the supersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS has continued to evolve as the most versatile weapon in its genre. To carry forward this excellent lineage, BrahMos Aerospace has initiated work on a new, more advanced variant of the missile - BRAHMOS-NG. This new missile, having smaller, lighter and smarter dimensions, would be designed for deployment on a wider number of modern military platforms, including land, sea, underwater and air. It will hugely bolster the Indian military's modern combat capability and flexibility in the next few years. (ANI)