Atmanirbhar goes global! Philippines inks deal worth $375 million for BrahMos missiles with India

New Delhi, Jan 28: India's first major foreign military sale was inked when the Philippines' Defence Ministry signed a $374 million contract with the BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd (BAPL) for the supply of Shore Based Anti-Ship Missile System to the Philippines, the Ministry of Defence said.

 

 

Notably, the BAPL is a joint venture company of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The BAPL, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.

 

 

The MoD stated, "BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) signed a contract with the Department of National Defence of the Republic of Philippines on January 28, 2022 for supply of Shore Based Anti-Ship Missile System to Philippines. The BAPL is a joint venture company of the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The contract is an important step forward for Government of India’s policy of promoting responsible defence exports."

 

The contract was signed by Defence Secretary of National Defence of Philippines Delfin Lorenzana and Atul Dinkar Rane, Director General of BrahMos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. in a virtual ceremony at 2pm Manila time (11:30am IST). The contract includes the delivery of three batteries, training for operators and maintainers as well as the necessary Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) package. The coastal defence regiment of the Philippine Marines will be the primary employer of missile systems.

 

 

As reported earlier, Newsbharati on January 14, 2022 had stated that Philippines had accepted India's proposal to supply the BrahMos anti-ship missile system for its navy. This development comes on the backdrop of the government's push for Make in India in defense and its stress on Aatmanirbhar Bharat - meaning self-reliant India program.

 

BrahMos is a joint venture between DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, and the missile derives its name from Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. The missile can fly at 2.8 Mach speed which is almost three times the speed of sound. Besides, the missile has been deployed in key areas across the country. The sea variant of the latest BrahMos missile has a range of 350 to 400 km.

 

There have been speculations that the Indian government is also planning to sell the missiles to Vietnam as the country looks to boost its arms export market. India is aiming to target $5 billion in defence exports by 2025.

 

 

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from submarines, ships, fighter jets and from land. It means BrahMos is the potent offensive missile weapon system that is already inducted into the Armed Forces and is used by the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force as well as Indian Army. The missile has integrated stealth technology and guidance system with advanced embedded software.