Tests of the various parameters of the Brahmos missile have been completed and the weapon will be ready for largescale production in two years, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency quoted Shivathanu Pillai, chief executive officer and managing director of the joint venture company, as saying.

The Brahmos has a range of 300 kilometres (186 miles) and can carry a 200-kilogramme (440-pound) conventional war-head. It was first test-fired in June last year.

Another test of the Brahmos was carried out in April.

The three-tonne, eight-metre (26 feet) long missile can be launched from a variety of platforms including ships and aircraft.

The missile was developed by a joint venture company formed in 1998 between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia's State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia.

Pillai said the cost of the missile had still to be decided by India and Russia, considering the demand and market volume.

The precision delivery missile would be improved according to use and applications in different fields, Pillai said.

When launched from a ship, the missile can fly at a height of up to 14 kilometres (about nine miles) at twice the speed of sound, he said.

The Brahmos has a sensor on its head that detects the target and can change course to strike 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the initial objective.

It can also fly near surface level, but that results in a shortening of its range to 120 kilometres (75 miles), defence sources said.

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