NEW DELHI, April 17: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has begun work to arm its frontline fighter jets with supersonic cruise missiles being developed jointly with Russia, a report said on Monday.

“We need only small changes to be made,” Sivathanu Pillai, chief executive of the Indian-Russian firm BrahMos Aerospace told the Press Trust of India (PTI).

“But it will be a giant leap because if we deploy aircraft with BrahMos missiles, we would be the first country to deploy supersonic airborne missiles,” Pillai was quoted as saying.

Pillai said the modifications were being carried out for India’s Russian-built Sukhoi-30 multi-role jet fighters.

“Already the needful modifications are being worked simultaneously at BrahMos Aerospace, IAF and Hindustan Aeronautics,” he said.—AFP