India is ready to sell the world's fastest anti-ship cruise missile to Vietnam. The BrahMos uses ramjet engine technology to achieve speeds of up to Mach 3, making it a deadly addition to Vietnam's arsenal.

BrahMos was developed jointly by India and Russia, its name a mashup of the Brahmaputra and Moscow Rivers. The missile was developed through the 1990s and early 2000s from the Russian P-800 Oniks anti-ship missile. It is in service with the Indian Armed Forces.

BrahMos missiles on display in India.

This is the fastest low-altitude missile in the world. The missile has two stages. The first, consisting of a solid-fuel rocket, accelerates BrahMos to supersonic speeds. The second stage, a liquid-fueled ramjet, accelerates the weapon to Mach 2.8.

BrahMos flies as low 32 feet above the wavetops, making it what's known as a "sea skimmer." This, combined with its blistering speed, makes BrahMos very difficult to intercept: most warships will detect the missile only as it crests the horizon at a distance of 16 miles, giving them just 28 seconds to track and shoot down this hotrod of a missile.

Air-launched version of BrahMos on Su-30 mockup.

Land and ship-based versions of the missile have a range of 180 miles and pack a 440-lb. warhead. The aircraft-based version is even bigger, with a range of 310 miles and 660-lb. warhead. Even without a warhead, at Mach 3 BrahMos would impart tremendous kinetic energy on its target. In 1987, an Exocet missile slammed into the frigate USS Stark and, although the warhead failed to explode, the missile still did considerable damage to the ship.

One country that won't be happy about this deal? China. China and Vietnam are longstanding rivals who fought a brief shooting war in 1979 and have active territorial disputes in the South China Sea. If the two countries ever come to blows again, BrahMos would give China's admirals real pause.

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Via USNI News

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