New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) The Philippines is eyeing a purchase of additional BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from India and has presented a list of suggested modifications to better suit the Southeast Asian nation’s infrastructure and geography, a report said.
Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro made the remarks on November 4 in an address to the Third Delhi Defence Dialogue, the EurAsian Times reported.
“We hope to increase the number of BrahMos units we have, and we have also shared a wish list on the BrahMos with the Indian authorities in order to make it more tailor-fitted for the Philippine environment,” Teodoro said.
According to the report, the Philippines could purchase up to five BrahMos systems, or nearly 60 missiles overall, in a contract valued at $700-$800 million.
In 2022, Manila signed a $375 million deal with India for three batteries of the shore-based, anti-ship variant of the BrahMos missile for its naval forces.
The purchase aimed to deter China, which claims almost the entire sea as its sovereign territory, the report said.
“Rather than treating BrahMos as an isolated national asset, Manila appears to be embedding it in a broader coastal-defence and long-range strike architecture,” The EurAsian Times said.
Earlier this year, the US and Philippine Marines conducted maritime-strike training that simulated employment of BrahMos anti-ship missiles, rehearsing the creation of a kill chain against mock maritime targets using drones and ground-based anti-ship missiles, according to the report.
The Filipino government has built a BrahMos site at the Philippine Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui in Zambales, on the coast of Western Luzon, the report noted.
“Although the Philippines is militarily outmatched by China, the BrahMos introduces asymmetric deterrence focused on anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) tactics,” the report said.
The BrahMos is a high-speed, precision, stand-off supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from the ground, sea and air. Its liquid-fuelled ramjet engine propels it at speeds approaching Mach 3, or more than three times the speed of sound.
“Its terrain-hugging trajectories, low radar signatures, and high kinetic energy make it very difficult to intercept,” the report added.
Former Philippine Secretary of National Defence Delfin Lorenzana had said the missiles “will provide deterrence against any attempt to undermine our sovereignty and sovereign rights” in the West Philippine Sea, while Teodoro has on occasion highlighted the BrahMos as a “game-changer” for maritime security, the report said.
–IANS
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