For the first time, India will export its BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system to any foreign country. The Secretary of National Defence of Philippines (equivalent to Ministry of Defence) has signed the ‘Notice of Award’ for the purchase of a shore-based anti-ship variant of BrahMos missile system from India. The Department of National Defence of Philippines has confirmed the notice of award. The contract will be signed soon and it is worth $374.96 million. The Philippinesj add will buy BrahMos for its coastal defence regiment which will enhance the defence capabilities of the Armed Forces of the country.
BrahMos Aerospace Limited; an Indian Russian Joint Venture between Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) of India and Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia(NPOM) of Russia produces the supersonic cruise missile ‘BrahMos’ that can be launched from ships, submarines, aircraft and even from land. The company was established in 1998 with India holding a majority stake of 50.5%. BrahMos is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that is notably famous for being the World’s fastest cruise missile. India has already deployed a sizable arsenal of BrahMos missiles at key strategic locations.
With India going ‘Atmanirbhar’ in all the fields and boosting its export, this made in India missile is an important asset for our defence export. India is one of the largest defence importing countries in the world. From our guns to tanks and aircraft, we have brought everything from the other developed countries. This is not good for any state as it drains money outside of their economy and second, it increases the security dependence on importing states. India has changed its stance in the last few years and started manufacturing inside the country. With the export of BrahMos missiles, India’s defence export will get a boost. The Indian Government is in talks with various South East Asian countries for BrahMos Missiles. Discussion with Indonesia is in the advanced stage, a defence official said. All these developments will help India’s defence export and boost defence manufacturing in the country. Even the export numbers are in the favour. India’s defence export has increased from INR 1,521Cr in 2016-17 to INR 8,434Cr and the government is aiming to achieve INR 35,000cr by 2025.
China angle
The export of BrahMos missiles is also important in the current geo-political scenario. Philippines is one of the states that has regional disputes with China. The South China Sea which China claims as its own marine territory is a bone of contention in the region. Along with the Philippines, there are other nations that claim their regional rights on the South China Sea and its islands include states like Brunei, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia. These South-East Asian Nations are important to India both economically and for security purposes. We already have economic relationships with these countries, but starting a new relationship based on security purposes will strengthen our ties.
Playing the role of defence supplier in the region, India can put checks on China through these nations. The current LAC scenario with China is a motivating key factor for India to supply arms and ammunition to those states which are having disputes with China. These states are geographically small and they require only small to medium-range missiles. BrahMos is a state of the art medium-range cruise missile with advanced ramjet that flies at nearly thrice the speed of sound in the air and this thus makes BrahMos perfect for the security of these countries. The BrahMos Diplomacy where the Government of India is pitching for the missile to other countries is now reaping fruits. This not only promotes our defence manufacturing sector but also strategically helps to counter China’s power.
What’s Next
With ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, our defence manufacturing sector is evolving. Though this sector still has a long way to go, we are catching up. To become a defence exporter from a defence importer, India needs to invest more in defence research and development. It needs to strengthen organisations such as HAL, DRDO, etc and promote joint ventures like BrahMos. Also, the Government needs to bring the private sector to help the defence sector grow. These all will promote scientific developments, infrastructure development in the country. The growing defence sector will create jobs and employment. Economically it will boost the country’s growth as the export will bring down the trade deficit of our country. And strategically speaking, it will play a crucial role in national security.
Authored by: Ajay Swadesh Sharma (L4Light)
