Brahmos Missile Delivered To Philippines

BRAHMOS MISSILE DELIVERED TO PHILIPPINES

India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles were delivered to the Philippines on Friday (April 19), as part of a $375 million deal signed by the two countries in 2022.

Brahmos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL), a joint venture company of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), had signed a contract with the Philippines on January 28, 2022, for supply of Shore Based Anti-Ship Missile System.

THE BIRTH OF BRAHMOS

• In the early 1990s, India’s strategic leadership felt the need for cruise missiles — guided missiles that traverse the majority of their flight path at almost constant speed and deliver large warheads over long distances with high precision.
  • The need was felt primarily following the use of cruise missiles in the 1991
    Gulf War.
• An Inter-Governmental Agreement was signed with Russia in Moscow in 1998 by Dr Kalam, who headed the DRDO, and N V Mikhailov, Russia’s then Deputy Defence Minister.
• This led to the formation of BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between DRDO and Russian Space company NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM).
  • The Indian side holding 50.5% and the Russians 49.5%.
• It was named after two rivers in India and Russia respectively – the Brahmaputra and the Moskva.

THE FIRST TEST

In 1999, work on development of missiles began in labs of DRDO and NPOM after BrahMos Aerospace received funds from the two governments.

The first successful test in 2001 was conducted from a specially designed land-based launcher.

ABOUT BRAHMOS MISSILE

• BrahMos is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine.
• Its first stage brings the missile to supersonic speed (meaning faster than sound) and then gets separated.
• The liquid ramjet or the second stage then takes the missile closer to three times the speed of sound in cruise phase.
• The missile has a very low radar signature, making it stealthy, and can achieve a variety of trajectories.
• The ‘fire and forget’ type missile can achieve a cruising altitude of 15 km and a terminal altitude as low as 10 m to hit the target.
• The BrahMos has 3 times the speed, 2.5 times flight range and higher range compared to subsonic cruise missiles.

BRAHMOS TRIAD

Senior DRDO scientists say what makes the missile system unparalleled is its extreme accuracy and versatility.

• Land-based BrahMos formations along the borders,
• BrahMos-equipped Sukhoi-30s at bases in Northern theatre and and Southern peninsula, and
• BrahMos-capable ships and submarines deployed in sea together form a triad.

LAND BASED BRAHMOS

The land-based BrahMos complex has four to six mobile autonomous launchers, each with three missiles on board that can be fired almost simultaneously. Batteries of the land-based systems have been deployed along India’s land borders in various theatres.

The upgraded land attack version, with capability of cruising at 2.8 Mach, can hit targets at a range up to 400 km with precision. Advanced versions of higher range and speed up to 5 Mach are said to be under development. The ground systems of BrahMos are described as ‘TIDY’ as they have very few components.

SHIP BASED BRAHMOS

• The Navy began inducting BrahMos on its frontline warships from
• These have the capability to hit sea-based targets beyond the radar horizon.
• The Naval version has been successful in sea-to-sea and sea-to-land
• The BrahMos can be launched as a single unit or in a salvo of up to eight missiles, separated by 2.5-second intervals.
• These can target a group of frigates with modern missile defence systems.

AIR BORNE BRAHMOS

On November 22, 2017, BrahMos was successfully flight-tested for the first time from a Sukhoi-30MKI against a sea-based target in the Bay of Bengal. It has since been successfully tested multiple times.

BrahMos-equipped Sukhoi-30s, which have a range of 1,500 km at a stretch without mid-air refuelling, are considered key strategic deterrence for adversaries both along land borders and in the strategically important Indian Ocean Region. The IAF is said to be integrating BrahMos with 40 sukhoi-30 fighter jets across the various bases.

SUBMARINE LAUNCHED

This version can be launched from around 50 m below the water surface. The canister-stored missile is launched vertically from the pressure hull of the submarine, and uses different settings for underwater and out-of-the-water flights.

This version was successfully tested first in March 2013 from a submerged platform off the coast of Visakhapatnam.

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