BrahMos

For Dad, for teaching me how to fly
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The BrahMos is the world’s fastest cruise missile in operation. It is a portmanteau of two words: India’s river 'Brahmaputra' and the Russian river 'Moskva'. An Indo-Russian collaboration, the hypersonic missile, flies upto speeds of Mach 3.0 - namely 3 times the speed of sound. One of its remarkable features is, that it can be that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It makes India the only country in the world, with hyper-sonic cruise missiles in their army, navy, and air force.

It’s interesting to see, how when the Indians and Russians put their minds together, historical trends are born, which go back centuries.  Imagine adding the third component of American innovation and ingenuity, which could lead to a new era in global collaboration, overturning stereotypes – in the battles against terrorism, ignorance and regressive regimes.

It is inspiring how India - despite battling against many other things - continues to innovate on some of most progressive realms in science, technology and human liberalism; be it aerospace or the environment - flying high on the ideas of science, secularism and democracy. Its unbroken 67-year old, secular democracy continues to remain the largest democracy on the planet, remaining a beacon hope to the world, despite being surrounded by revolutions, coups, terrorism and global upheavals. The essence of Gandhi survives in the land of the Brahmos.