Key facts
- Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr said the Philippines hoped to expand its 2022 BrahMos purchase and adapt the missiles to its terrain.
- Indian sources told Reuters that New Delhi was in final-stage talks on a larger BrahMos sale to Manila.
- The Philippines is expected to buy about five BrahMos systems, nearly 60 missiles in total, two Indian sources said.
- The potential deal is worth $700 million to $800 million, according to two of the Indian sources.
- The earlier 2022 order of BrahMos for naval use was worth $375 million.
- BrahMos, developed jointly by India and Russia, can be launched from land, sea and air platforms.
Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr told a security summit in New Delhi on November 2 that the Philippines hoped to expand on its 2022 purchase of India's BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and have them adapted to its terrain, to strengthen its external deterrence.
Indian sources later told Reuters that India was in final-stage talks to expand the BrahMos sale to the Philippines. The Philippines is expected to buy about five BrahMos systems, nearly 60 missiles in total, in a deal potentially worth $700 million to $800 million, two of the Indian sources said.
One Indian source said Manila had shown interest again in procuring about five BrahMos systems and now viewed India as a very reliable partner. The likely deal is much higher than the last $375 million order of BrahMos for naval use.
BrahMos, developed jointly by India and Russia, is among the world's fastest cruise missiles and can be launched from land, sea and air platforms. The Philippines is modernising its military and strengthening coastal defences as tensions rise in the disputed South China Sea, according to the report.