Lucknow, May 12 -- The BrahMos production unit complex in Lucknow is considered the "jewel in the crown" of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor project. With the inauguration of the unit on Sunday, the state capital has entered the league of cities producing cruise missiles. Located in Sarojini Nagar of the Defence Corridor's Lucknow node, the project has been completed in three-and-a-half years. The facility will manufacture the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile-a joint India-Russia project with a range of 290 to 400 km and a top speed of Mach 2.8. BrahMos can be launched from land, sea, or air and uses a 'fire and forget' system, making it highly precise and difficult to intercept. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the UP Defence Corridor project on November 21, 2021 in Jhansi. Built at a cost of Rs 300 crore, the unit in Lucknow stands on 80 hectares (200 acres) of land provided free of cost by the Yogi Adityanath government. Launched by PM Modi at the UP Investors Summit in Lucknow on February 21, 2018, the defence corridor spans six strategic nodes-Kanpur, Jhansi, Lucknow, Aligarh, Agra, and Chitrakoot-under the supervision of the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA). The foundation stone for a Defence Testing Infrastructure System (DTIS) was also laid at the Lucknow node. This system will help in testing and certifying defence products. Defence minister Rajnath Singh and CM Yogi Adityanath also laid the foundation stones for four new state-of-the-art manufacturing units. These include an Aerospace Precision Casting Plant for critical components used in jet engines and aircraft systems, and an Aerospace Forge Shop and Mill Products Plant, which will manufacture bars, rods, and sheets from titanium and super alloys. Further expanding indigenous capabilities, the Aerospace Precision Machining Shop will handle ultra-fine machining of jet engine components. The Strategic Powder Metallurgy Facility will produce titanium and super alloy metal powders using indigenous technology-a first in India, the state government claimed. The campus also features the Stride Academy, which will provide practical training to youth in defence and aerospace technologies. A dedicated research and development centre will drive innovation in materials, processes, and indigenous technology development. In the next five to seven years, missiles worth Rs 900 crore are expected to be manufactured in the Defence Corridor. BrahMos Aerospace was created as a joint venture between the India's DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and 'JSC' 'MIC' NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia. The company was established in India after an agreement was signed between the two governments on February 12, 1998. BrahMos Aerospace was set up with 50.5% Indian and 49.5% Russian ownership, and it is the first defence joint venture of its kind that is established by the Indian government with a foreign government, according to a government statement....