In a major boost to India’s hopes of becoming an exporter of defense platforms, the Philippines has signed an agreement to buy three batteries of the BrahMos missile, which is being jointly developed by the Indian Research and Development Organization Development for Defense (DRDO) and the Russian NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
The deal is worth nearly $375 million and is India’s first major defense export. The missiles are manufactured by Barhmos Aerospace in India.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Friday that BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) signed a contract with the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of the Philippines on January 28, 2022 for the supply of an anti-missile missile system. shore-based vessels in the Philippines.
“BAPL is a joint venture of the Defense Research and Development Organization. The contract is an important step forward in the Indian government’s policy to promote responsible defense exports.
While the official contract was signed on Friday, the Philippines had given its approval for the deal on December 31, 2021. Its Department of National Defense had sent an award notice to BAPL, which mentioned that BAPL’s proposal for the The anti-proposed ship acquisition for the Philippine Navy, with a corresponding price proposal “for US$374,962,800” is hereby accepted.
As the Philippines became the first country to which India will export the missile system, sources said several other Southeast Asian countries have expressed interest in buying it, including Vietnam and Thailand. .
The agreement with the Philippines is also important, because like India, the country has seen its relations with China deteriorate, as Beijing has taken aggressive measures in the South China Sea. Additionally, Filipino fishermen also have to contend with the Little Blue Men, as the Chinese maritime militia is called. India has also been embroiled in a more than 21-month standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, which remains unresolved.
BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile, which can reach a maximum speed of 2.8 mach, or 2.8 times the speed of sound.
It has a range of 300 km to 500 km and is a short-range, ramjet-powered, single-warhead supersonic anti-ship cruise or land-attack missile. It can be launched from land, submarines, surface ships and fighter jets.
Recently, on January 11, India successfully tests the extended range sea-to-sea variant of the Navy’s INS Vishakhapatnam missile.
