The Philippine Navy is preparing to receive the first components of its new India-Russia-made BrahMos missiles

Amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, the Philippines is preparing to receive the first components of its new BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. It is hoped that by operating the new India-Russia-built systems, the Philippine Navy can strengthen its capabilities to defend the country’s sovereign claims in the region in the face of rising tensions with the People’s Republic of China.

First of all, it is worth remembering that the Philippines was the first foreign country to purchase BrahMos supersonic cruise missile through a $374 million contract in January 2022. Although these missiles have not yet been put into service, some progress has been reported regarding their components during this last period.

In late January this year, Indian Ambassador to Manila Shambhu Kumaran said that the Philippines “will receive”soonThis is the first batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. And a few days later, Praveen Pathak, export director of the BrahMos firm, specified that this batch will be delivered in two months. It is worth clarifying that, as reported yesterday, February 7, by Russia’s Tass news agency, this statement was within the framework of the fair world defense show 2024 Held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

TASS further reported that, initially, delivery of the first components of the order was scheduled for the end of December 2023. However, Park pointed out that: “There were difficulties in preparation of missile deployment sites due to strong monsoon” And for this reason, the manufacturing of components was postponed, Taking this line forward, it is important to mention that recently a delegation from the Philippines visited India to verify the adequate technical integrity of the equipment and signed the letter of acceptance for its delivery. In turn, according to the Philippine website rapperNational Security Council (NSC) spokesperson Jonathan Malaya announced the state program Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon Before the end of the first quarter of 2024, the Philippines will enter “supersonic era, So, although it is a reality that the Southeast Asian country is preparing to receive the first components of its new BrahMos missiles, there is still no exact date announced as to when this event will take place.

About BrahMos Supersonic Missile

BrahMos is an Indo-Russian cruise missile, whose name comes from two rivers, one Indian (Brahmaputra) and the other Russian (Moskva). The first test launch was conducted in June 2001 in the Chandipur range in Odisha, eastern India. And later these supersonic missiles started being produced in the companies of both the countries.

Nowadays, it is operated under “shoot and forgetFrom submarines, ships, airplanes or land mobile launchers. Regarding its special features, as explained here: “Compared to the latest generation subsonic missiles, BrahMos stands out to achieve higher values ​​in terms of speed (3 times higher), flight range (290 km in its basic version, possibly 900 km in its ER version), seeker range Is. And kinetic energy.” Likewise, the missile is composed of two distinct stages: initially, it is powered by a solid propulsion motor that allows it to reach supersonic speeds, after which it separates; And then, in the second stage, a liquid ramjet is used to propel the rocket to Mach 3 speeds during the cruise phase.

*Photos used for illustration.

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