BrahMos cruise missiles deal with India in early 2020: The Philippines official

The Philippines confirmed their much-awaited BrahMos cruise missile deal with India to strengthen the coastal defence missions of the Philippine Army. According to the local news agency, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that the contract will be signed early part of 2020.

Exact date not confirmed

Lorenzana said that the signing of the deal could take place in the first or second quarter, which will make the Philippines first country to buy the BrahMos cruise missile. BrahMos, jointly developed by India and Russia, is the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world which can be launched from submarine, ships, land, and aircraft. The DND chief revealed that the island nation would purchase “two batteries” of BrahMos that means six mobile autonomous launchers with two or three tubes each.

Read: IAF BrahMos Missiles Hit Bullseye, Attacks Mock Target 300 Km Away

Govt-to-govt mode of deal

Lorenzana said that no private party will be involved in the procurement and it will be done via "government-to-government mode". As per the modernisation program, the Philippines has planned to acquire BrahMos getting first weaponry with a deterrent capability and Lorenzana claimed that they have sufficient money for the plan.

In October, The Philippines Army activated its first land-based missile battery system under the supervision of the Army Artillery Regiment. India has been negotiating with several countries including Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam to sell the supersonic cruise missile. 

Read: BRAHMOS Missile With Indigenous Systems Test-fired Successfully

Successful test-firing of BrahMos

Meanwhile, India successfully test-fired BrahMos from a base in Odisha's Chandipur on December 17. It was a land-attack version launched from a mobile autonomous launcher at Launch Complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) and it reportedly met all parameters. India had entered into an agreement with Russia in 1998 and created a joint entity called ‘BrahMos Aerospace’. The name ‘BrahMos’ is a portmanteau of India's Brahmaputra River and Russia's Moskva River. The first-ever successful launch of BrahMos was on June 21, 2001. India and Russia are now planning to develop a new generation of Brahmos missile with 600 km-plus range.

Read: BrahMos Missile Successfully Test-fired From Odisha's Chandipur

Read: Indian Navy Successfully Test Fires BrahMos Missile In Arabian Sea

(With inputs from agencies)