India to deliver BrahMos missiles to Philippines on April 19

The Indian government will be delivering the first batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and launchers to the Philippines on April 19.

According to reports, the Indian Air Force is dispatching its American-origin C-17 Globemaster to deliver the missiles to the Southeast Asian nation under a $375 million contract. Under the agreement signed in January 2022, India will supply three batteries of the BrahMos missile system. The deal comes amidst military confrontations between Philippines and China in the South China Sea.

In January 2022, India sealed the deal with the Philippines for supplying three batteries of the missile.

It would be the first export of the BrahMos missile by India.

A few other countries including Argentina have also shown interest in procuring BrahMos missiles from India.

BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.

BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.

India has been looking at further expanding defence ties with the Philippines against the backdrop of growing global concerns over China's increasing military assertiveness in the South China Sea.

There have been growing global concerns over China's sweeping claims of sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons.

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