Chile close to Purchasing Indian Missiles
Chile, which has become a leading weapons buyer, is close to striking a deal with India in order to purchase supersonic missiles BrahMos.

Indian Defense Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, and A. Sivathanu Pillai, Executive Director of BrahMos Aerospace, are in Santiago de Chile for the last negotiation stage.

Chile´s El Mercurio daily has reported on its digital version that Indian Vice Admiral Madanjit Sinh, who is attending a naval industry seminar, said there was already an agreement already on the transaction.

Officials from the Chilean Defense Minister confirmed the Indian version but denied that negotiations are in their closing stage, as Indian sources had said.

Defense Minister Mukherjee was received in La Moneda Presidential Palace by Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, after he had interviews with Chilean Defense Ministry Jaime Ravinet, and other high Chilean Defense Ministry officials.

BrahMos, a missile with a 180.2 mile range, is able to carry a conventional load of 300 kilograms at more than twice the speed of sound, and it is the only supersonic missile of its kind. The Indian Navy has equipped several destroyers with it.

This missile has multi-platform capacity, so it may be used in fighter planes, ships, and it was recently tested in earth rocket launching pads.

Chile is the Latin American country with the highest percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per inhabitant dedicated to arms purchasing.