New Delhi: India delivered the first BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system to the Philippines on Friday. This delivery is part of a $374.9 million contract signed between the two countries in 2022.
This deal, involving a shore-based version of an anti-ship cruise missile with a range of 290 km. The missile system is expected to be deployed in the coastal areas of the Philippines by the country’s marine corps.
India has delivered this missile system to the Philippines amid the ongoing tension between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea. India aims to strengthen defence cooperation with the Philippines, a move seen as a response to China’s escalating military activities in the region.
The BrahMos missile system, a joint venture between India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPOM Mashinostroyeniya, is considered one of the most accurate and successful missile programmes globally.
The delivery of the missile to Philippines, carried out by an Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster jet, marks the first instance of India exporting the BrahMos missile. Several other nations, including Argentina, have expressed interest in acquiring BrahMos missiles from India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the nation on this achievement. “Now we are also exporting BrahMos missiles. The first batch of this missile is going to the Philippines today. I congratulate all the countrymen on this,” he said during a rally in Domah.
India has set a defence export target of Rs 35,000 crore by 2024-25. The country’s defence exports grew by 32.5% last fiscal, crossing the Rs 21,000 crore mark for the first time. India is exporting military hardware to around 85 countries, with around 100 local firms involved. It includes missiles, artillery guns, rockets, armoured vehicles, offshore patrol vessels, personal protective gear, a variety of radars, surveillance systems and ammunition.
