BrahMos Missile Export | India Sends First Batch to Philippines

The first export batch of the BrahMos missile, a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia, has officially arrived in the Philippines, marking a significant milestone in India’s defence export history.

Key Highlights of the BrahMos Missile Deal

• In January 2022, India and the Philippines signed a $375 million deal. As part of the agreement, BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an Indo-Russian joint venture, would provide three export variants of the supersonic BrahMos missile weapon systems to Manila.
• Each system has two missile launchers, a radar and a command-and-control centre. Two missiles can be fired within 10 seconds, from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms.
• The deal includes an integrated logistics support package and training for operators and maintainers that the island nation will need for the BrahMos.
• Now, two years after the pact was inked, the first batch of the munitions have finally arrived in the Philippines.
• The India-Philippines BrahMos missile export agreement is understood to be the first major military export deal for New Delhi.
• India, the top importer of weapons in the world, has been pushing aggressively for greater self-reliance in this arena

India-Philippines Relations: A Strategic Overview

• India and the Philippines formally established diplomatic relations on 26 November 1949, shortly after both countries gained independence [Philippines in 1946 and India in 1947].
• Relations have been friendly with shared values and commonalities, such as vibrant democratic polity, pluralistic society, rule of law, an independent judiciary and free press, and the widespread use of the English language.
• When India launched the Look East Policy and intensified partnership with ASEAN in 1992, this also resulted in stronger relations with countries in the region including the Philippines, both bilaterally and in the regional context.
• With the Act East Policy initiated in 2014, the relationship with Philippines has diversified further into political-security; trade and industry and people-to-people realms.

Bilateral Relations

• Bilateral relations have strengthened over the years with the exchange of high level visits, telephonic conversations, virtual meetings, etc
• The umbrella bilateral mechanism is the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) co-chaired by EAM and the Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs
• Official level foreign policy and security dialogue meetings have been held regularly
• The Philippines has been supportive of a greater role for India in the UN Security Council. They supported our candidature for the non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for the term 2021-22 as well as earlier in 2011-12.

Growing Defence Cooperation

India and the Philippines have steadily expanded their defence ties, especially in recent years:

• Training exchanges and naval visits are regular features of bilateral cooperation.
• The signing of the BrahMos missile contract significantly boosted the defence partnership.
• Both countries participate in multilateral military exercises like RIMPAC and the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise.

What is the BrahMos Missile?

• Research and development of the BrahMos cruise missile systems began in the late 1990s.
• This is the first supersonic cruise missile to enter service.
• BrahMos missile derives its name from the combination of the names of Brahmaputra and Moskva Rivers.
• It is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster as the first stage and liquid ramjet as the second stage.
• The cruise missiles like BrahMos are a type of system known as the ‘standoff range weapons’ which are fired from a range sufficient to allow the attacker to evade defensive fire from the adversary.
• Such weapons are in the arsenal of most major militaries in the world.

Features Of BrahMos Missile

• BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.
• It is a multiplatform missile i.e it can be launched from land, air, and sea and multi capability missile with pinpoint accuracy that works in both day and night irrespective of the weather conditions.
• It operates on the “Fire and Forgets” principle i.e it does not require further guidance after launch.
• It is the main weapon system of the Indian Navy warships and has been deployed on almost all of its surface platforms.
• An underwater version is also being developed which will not only be used by the submarines of India but will also be offered for export to friendly foreign nations

Trade and Commerce  

• Bilateral trade between India and Philippines (in terms of value) increased from 1.89 billion USD in 2015-16 to 2.84 billion USD in 2021-22.
• There has been decline in the volume of bilateral trade since 2017-18, however, it has started growing back steadily and is expected to cross USD 3 billion mark.
• India is currently the Philippines’ fifteenth largest trading partner, with trade worth approximately USD 3 billion in the 2022.
• Also, Philippines has been a net importer in goods trade with India.

Training and Education

• Philippines is one of the beneficiaries of India’s flagship capacity building programme – Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC).
• To date, over 1000 Filipino professionals have availed of courses offered.
• ITEC Day is celebrated every year by the Embassy that brings together ITEC alumni across the Philippines.

Indian Diaspora in the Philippines

• The Indian community in the Philippines is estimated to be around 1,50,000.
• Punjabis and Sindhis (80:20) constitute the bulk of the community.
• While the Sindhis are primarily engaged in trading, especially in the retail sector and also some manufacturing, the Punjabis, mostly from rural background are predominantly involved in micro-financing.

About the Philippines

• The Philippines is an archipelago located in Southeast Asia, bordered by the Philippine Sea to the east, the South China Sea to the west, and the Celebes Sea to the south.
• It consists of 7,641 islands, with Luzon and Mindanao being the largest.
• The capital city is Manila, situated on Luzon Island.
• Mount Apo (2,954 meters) on Mindanao Island is the highest peak, and it is an active volcano.
• The Philippines has a tropical climate with high temperatures and humidity year-round, experiencing wet and dry seasons.
• The Philippines is considered one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
• The Philippines is also a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which makes it geologically active.
• It has more than 20 active volcanoes, including Mayon (recently erupted in 2023), Taal, and Mount Pinatubo (erupted in 1991).

Conclusion

The arrival of the BrahMos missile in the Philippines symbolizes a new era in India’s defence diplomacy and strategic outreach in Southeast Asia. As India steps forward as a global military exporter, the BrahMos export deal serves as a testament to its growing technological and geopolitical clout.

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