India has finally bagged a $375 million (Rs 2,770 crore) deal to export BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to Philippines, which has had several bitter tiffs with China over territorial claims in South China Sea in recent months.
The Philippines’ Department of National Defence has issued the “notice of award” to the BrahMos Aerospace Private Ltd, under which the actual contract is likely to be inked next week, sources said.
This first-ever contract to export the 290-km range BrahMos missiles, which India has developed jointly with Russia, will pave the way for more such deals with the Philippines as well as other Asean countries like Indonesia and Vietnam. “It is also strategically significant in the backdrop of China’s expansionism and strong-arm tactics with its neighbours in the South China Sea,” a source said.
The Philippines will get at least three missile batteries of the shore-based anti-ship systems of the BrahMos, a deadly conventional ( non-nuclear) weapon that flies almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2. 8, apart from the training for operators and the necessary integrated logistics support package.
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