The Philippine Army (PA) intends to purchase the Indian-made BrahMos cruise missile system, which it will utilize in conjunction with the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) to defend the country's shores.

 

 

 

"The Marines will receive the first deliveries of the BrahMos, three batteries," stated Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) leader Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. in a recent media interview. While he did not specify how many batteries the Army would receive, Brawner stated that it would be more than the PMC would receive.

 

A missile battery is normally made up of three mobile autonomous launchers, each having two or three missile tubes and tracking equipment. The AFP head stated that once the PA's procurement request for the BrahMos cruise missile system is authorized and funded, it will be deployed for coastal defense operations such as the PMC.

 

"It will also be used for coastal defense and to fill coverage gaps." "The Marines will cover this sector, and the Army will cover another," Brawner explained.

 

Earlier, DND Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. stated that delivery of these weapon platforms for the PMC will begin by the end of this year.

 

The BrahMos cruise missile is capable of delivering warheads weighing 200 to 300 kg and may be fired from a ship, airplane, submarine, or land. It has a peak speed of roughly Mach 2.8 (around 3,400 km/h).

 

This weapon platform is anticipated to solve the country's military's vulnerabilities and deficiencies in maritime control, anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD), and coastal and island defense operations. In January 2022, former DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and BrahMos Aerospace Director General Atul Dinkar Rane inked a deal for PHP18.9 billion in a virtual ceremony at defense headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. Under this transaction, the nation would receive three batteries of BrahMos cruise missiles.