India signs $374 mn BrahMos missile deal with Philippines

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 28

India got its first-ever export order for BrahMos missiles on Friday when the Philippines’ Defence Ministry signed $374.96 million contract with the BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd (BAPL) to supply undisclosed number of missiles, military officials stated.

Important step

The contract is an important step forward for Government of India’s policy of promoting responsible defence exports. Ministry of Defence

The BAPL, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms.

The contract is to supply shore-based anti-ship BrahMos missiles to the Philippines’ Navy, the military officials noted.

The contract was signed today, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

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.

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 user of the missile systems.

In the first week of January, the Department of National Defence of Philippines had put up the notification and the ‘notice of award’ on its website.

Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand are other South-East Asian countries that have shown interest in the missiles system.

BrahMos is capable of being launched from land, sea, under-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets.

The range of the missile was capped at 290 km, as per Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) regulations. India entered the MTCR regime in June 2016 allowing extension in range beyond 300 km.

An extended range missile has already been tested, the latest on January 11 from indigenous guided stealth missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam and again on January 20 from a land-based test facility.

What it entails

The contract includes the delivery of three batteries, training for operators and maintainers as well as the necessary Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) package.

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