India is poised to deliver the fourth battery of land-based BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines on Tuesday.
Indian media reported that three such batteries have already been supplied to the island nation, with a fourth en route to Manila as part of a $375 million agreement between the two allies back in 2022. Each battery consists of four launchers, each equipped with three missiles boasting a range of 290 kilometers (180 miles).
These launchers are mounted on mobile platforms to enhance their survivability as a conventional deterrent. Given the missile's supersonic velocity, it poses considerable challenges for interception by land or ship-based Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) systems.
The agreement with the Philippines to supply the BrahMos missiles has contributed significantly to India's defence exports, which have reached INR 21,083 crores ($2.5 Billion) in the fiscal year 2023-2024, marking a substantial 32.5 percent year-on-year increase compared to the previous period.
Given BrahMos's established effectiveness, India is anticipated to secure additional orders for the supersonic missiles in the coming years.
Building BrahMos: India, Russia Collaboration in Missile Development
In the early 1990s, India recognized the necessity for cruise missiles 0151 prompted by their prominent role in the 1991 Gulf War.
This led to an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed in Moscow in 1998 between India and Russia, represented by Dr. Kalam and N. V. Mikhailov respectively.
BrahMos Aerospace was later established as a joint venture between DRDO and the Russian company NPO Mashinostroyeniya, with the Indian side holding a majority stake of 51 percent.
The venture, named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers of India and Russia, began missile development in 1999 with funding from both governments. The first successful test occurred in 2001, conducted from a specially designed land-based launcher.