The Philippines' plan to buy the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile from India
will help the country's armed forces increase their ability to protect coastal areas
amid rising tensions between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea
On December 27, the Philippine News Agency reported that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)
had approved the initial funding requirements of the “Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile System Acquisition Project of the Philippine Navy
under the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program
The Philippines will purchase at least two batteries of BrahMos cruise missiles with each battery having three mobile automatic launchers
Each launchers will consist of two to three missile tubes
India claims it has the capability of attacking surface targets by flying as low as five metres in altitude and the maximum altitude it can fly is 15,000 metres
It has a diameter of 70 cm and a wingspan of 1.7 m
The BrahMos (PJ-10) missile is a product of India's cooperation with Russia and can be launched from warships, submarines, aircraft and land-based launchers
As a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos is notably one of the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world
It can gain a speed of Mach 3.5, and has a maximum range of 650 km
The ship-launched and land-based missiles can carry a 200 kg warhead, whereas the aircraft-launched variant can carry a 300 kg warhead
It has a two-stage propulsion system
with a solid-propellant rocket for initial acceleration and a liquid-fuelled ramjet responsible for sustained supersonic cruise
Air-breathing ramjet propulsion is much more fuel-efficient than rocket propulsion
giving the BrahMos a longer range than a pure rocket-powered missile would achieve
Although BrahMos was primarily an anti-ship missile, the BrahMos can also engage land-based targets
The procurement process of BrahMos was already in the advanced stage by March 2020
but the COVID-19 pandemic halted the process and caused the Philippines reprioritizing its budget
India has offered the Philippines an arrangement to acquire the missiles through soft loan but President Rodrigo Duterte
is reportedly not keen on taking the offer
With this agreement, the Philippines will be India's first foreign customer to purchase BrahMos cruise missiles
This is also New Delhi's first major defense equipment sale to Manila - a close US ally in Southeast Asia
Recently, India has moved closer to the US as tensions with China have increased