BrahMos Missile Exports To Philippines Begin Soon

Utkarsh Classes Last Updated 26-01-2024

BrahMos Missile Exports To Philippines Begin Soon

Defence 5 min read

According to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman Dr. Samir V.Kamat, India is all set to begin the export of ground systems for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines.

The first set of BrahMos missile systems will be delivered to the Philippines by the end of March.
This marks DRDO's largest-ever defence contract with a foreign nation, valued at USD 375 million.
The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is a joint venture between DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya and it is considered to be one of the most successful missile programs in the world.
It is globally recognised as the foremost and swiftest precision-guided weapon and has played a pivotal role in enhancing India's deterrence capabilities. The Indian Army has integrated multiple BrahMos regiments into its arsenal since 2007.

About BrahMos

The BrahMos missile is a supersonic cruise missile that is named after two rivers, the Brahmaputra in India and the Moskva in Russia.
It follows a two-stage process where a solid propellant booster engine is used in the first stage to achieve supersonic speed before separating from the missile.
During the second stage, the liquid ramjet takes over and propels the missile even closer to a speed of 3 mach.
The missile has advanced stealth technology and an embedded software guidance system.
It has a range of up to 290 km and maintains supersonic speed throughout the flight, thus ensuring shorter flight times and quicker engagement.
The missile's 'Fire and Forget' principle allows various flights to the target. It has a cruising altitude of up to 15 km and a terminal altitude of as low as 10 metre, with a conventional warhead weighing 200 to 300 kg.
The first supersonic cruise missile to be in service is the BrahMos. Its identical configuration for land, sea and sub-sea platforms makes it adaptable to various environments.
The Indian Air Force has also successfully inducted the BrahMos Air Launched Cruise Missile System, armed with Sukhoi 30MKI frontline fighter aircraft.

Variants:

BrahMos-II is an advanced version of the BrahMos missile system that is currently being developed and is expected to be ready for testing by 2024.
It is a hypersonic missile with a speed of Mach 7-8, making it one of the fastest missiles in the world.
Another version of the BrahMos system is the BrahMos-NG (Next Generation), a miniaturized version of the existing system.
The BrahMos-NG will have the same range of 290 km and a speed of Mach 3.5, but it will be 50 percent lighter, 3 metre shorter and have a weight of 1.5 tons, making it more compact and easier to handle.The BrahMos-NG system is expected to be inducted in 2024.
India and Russia, both members of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), are jointly developing a new generation of BrahMos missiles with an extended range of 800 km and the ability to hit protected targets with pinpoint accuracy. The plan is to eventually upgrade all of the missiles to have a range of 1,500 km.