India exports second batch BrahMos missile to Philippines via sea

The delivery of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines is part of a $375 million deal signed in 2022 between New Delhi and Manila

India has shipped the second battery of its supersonic BrahMos missile system to the Philippines, marking another milestone in the country’s defence exports.

 

Unlike the first delivery made by an Indian Air Force aircraft in April 2024, the latest shipment is being transported via sea, reported The New Indian Express. The development is part of a $375 million deal signed in 2022 between New Delhi and Manila, under which India is to supply three BrahMos missile batteries, along with launchers and associated equipment.

 

BrahMos: India’s flagship cruise missile 

The BrahMos missile is a supersonic cruise missile developed through a collaboration between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia. The missile, capable of flying at nearly three times the speed of sound (Mach 2.8), can be launched from land, sea, and air. According to a report by The New Indian Express, the missile is undergoing a process where 83 per cent of its components are being indigenised.

 

 

#WATCH | Indian officials offering sweets to the Philippines Marine Corps officers on the delivery of the BrahMos missile to the Philippines under an export order of USD 375 million. pic.twitter.com/qzhLsMxOLu

— ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2024

 

Other nations in talk for BrahMos 

While the Philippines is the first nation to sign an agreement with India to import BrahMos, many other countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) grouping, along with some Gulf nations, are also showing increasing interest in acquiring the missiles that have been co-developed by India and Russia.

 

In February this year, DRDO Chairperson Samir V Kamat told ANI, “Indonesia is interested...There are other countries also who have shown interest in Brahmos... Some countries in the Middle East and some other countries in Southeast Asia.”

 

 

Meanwhile, in January, Indonesia's Ministry of Defence sent a letter regarding a $450 million BrahMos missile deal to the Indian Embassy in Jakarta, reported The New Indian Express. Other countries that have shown interest in acquiring the missile are Vietnam, Malaysia, UAE, Chile and South Africa.

 

As India eyes a larger role in global arms exports, deals with nations like the Philippines and prospective buyers like Indonesia signal a strategic shift in defence diplomacy — particularly in a region where China maintains a dominant presence in the South China Sea.