India is expected to set a deal with the Philippines to sell BrahMos Supersonic Missiles for the second time. The Philippines earlier had bought the BrahMos missiles in January 2022 whose delivery is said to be done in late 2023, the ideal was finalized at 374 Million Dollars. Then the Philippines bought an anti-ship variant of the BrahMos Missile. India is also in discussion with other Asian counties to sell the mighty supersonic.
Keen Interest in BrahMos by the Philippines
In fact, the Philippines has expressed interest in acquiring the BrahMos since 2016. Negotiations for the procurement of two mobile batteries for the Philippine army under the Land-Based Missile System (LBMS) program have been ongoing since 2019. A mock-up of the launcher used by the Philippine army was displayed. The missiles were mounted on a semi-trailer pulled by a KIA KM500 truck from South Korea. Furthermore, there were reports in the spring of 2020 of the Philippine Navy’s intention to purchase three BrahMos system batteries.
Chinese Tensions
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) is causing concern in the Philippines. The PLAN already has authority over a number of islets, including the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal. The recent discovery of a Chinese underwater drone on neighboring Selayar Island, as well as a new regulation authorizing the Chinese coast guard to open fire on foreign ships in territories claimed by China, have fueled regional tensions. The lethal cruise missile’s land variant will provide the Philippines with a credible deterrence value to protect itself against hostile Chinese armed forces.
Last month the Chinese navy had engaged with two Philippine Coast Guard Ships and this confrontation lead to serious maneuvers. Chinese have been actively seeking much more territory in the Indian Ocean region and is continuously disturbing the sovereignty of the countries. That being said China is already in its vision to control the South China Sea, so it is imperative for the countries nearby to take steps to protect their territorial boundaries. At the Philippines Fleet defence expo, Brahmos Aerospace exhibited that the supersonic missile systems can be mounted on submarines, boats, destroyers, and frigates besides the land and other versions.
BrahMos went through various hardware and software changes which have increased its range and precision. BrahMos is already in use with the Tri-Services of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force. BrahMos Aerospace is also in the process of developing other versions of its missile besides developing a hypersonic missile that would have a speed of Mach 8 and a possible range of 600 km.
To crack the SSB Interview, You can join our SSB interview live classes batch and we recommend you to Enroll SSB INTERVIEW ONLINE COURSE. Trusted by thousands of defence aspirants.
Also read:
