BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited will receive 180 acres of land in Kallikkad village in Kattakkada taluk of Thiruvananthapuram district after the Kerala cabinet approved the allocation for the company’s expansion. The land forms part of a 257-acre parcel transferred from the Nettukaltheri open prison campus following approval by the Supreme Court in December 2025.
According to reports, the land transfer enables BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited (BATL) to establish a second manufacturing unit dedicated to advanced missiles and strategic hardware. The remaining land from the transfer will be allocated for a Sashastra Seema Bal headquarters and a campus of the National Forensic Science University.
BATL currently operates from a 15.8-acre facility in Chackai, Thiruvananthapuram, where it manufactures missile integration systems and small turbine fan engines used in missiles. The facility also produces components supplied to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Kalpakkam Nuclear Facility.
The expansion at Kallikkad is intended to support a shift in manufacturing scope from component production to broader strategic hardware and missile system integration. The new facility is expected to support programmes such as the BrahMos Next Generation (BrahMos-NG) missile, a smaller and lighter version designed for deployment on a wider range of platforms, including the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas.
The project will also expand production of small turbine fan engines used in missile systems, including engines for cruise missiles such as the Nirbhay. BATL is currently the only facility in India manufacturing small turbine fan engines for missiles.
The new 180-acre site will enable the relocation or expansion of operations from the Chackai facility, where manufacturing activity has faced space constraints due to the expansion of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The site is expected to house specialised manufacturing infrastructure including heavy-duty production hangars, high-precision assembly lines and testing laboratories.
State authorities told the Supreme Court that allocating land to BATL, which operates under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), would support defence manufacturing and national security capabilities. The state government said the project is expected to generate more than 500 high-skilled jobs once fully operational.
The facility forms part of a wider 257-acre development cluster at Kallikkad approved by the Supreme Court. In addition to the 180 acres allocated to BATL, 45 acres will be used for a battalion headquarters of the Sashastra Seema Bal, while 32 acres will be allocated for a campus of the National Forensic Science University.
The expansion is also linked to Kerala’s K-Space initiative, which aims to attract defence and space manufacturing companies and related suppliers to Thiruvananthapuram, leveraging the presence of institutions such as the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited manufactures missile components, propulsion systems and integration hardware for defence programmes and supplies specialised components to space and nuclear research institutions in India.
