India will begin the export of ground systems for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in the next ten days, while the missiles of the system would be sent by March this year, DRDO chairman Dr Samir V Kamat said on January 25.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation chairman, in an interview with the media, said the first set of BrahMos missile systems is expected to reach Philippines by the end of March.
“The ground systems should be sent in the next 10 days, the missiles will hopefully go by March (to Philippines),” Dr Samir V Kamat said.
#WATCH | On export of ground systems for BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines, DRDO Chairman Dr Samir V Kamat says, "The ground systems should be sent very soon, in the next 10 days. The missiles, hopefully, will go by March to Philippines." pic.twitter.com/Hpoog3JW9g
— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2024
BrahMos missile export to the Philippines is the biggest defence export contract signed with any foreign country by India.
India had signed a deal with the Philippines worth USD 375 million in January 2022 for the supply of shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.
In an interview with the media, the DRDO chairman said that exports are going to play a significant role in the defence sector.
“I am sure over the coming years exports are going to become a very important part of our portfolio,” he said.
“So far, a lot of our hull-mounted sonars, lightweight torpedo, we have exported radars, we have now a lot of interested (countries) on Pinaka among others,” the top DRDO official said.
#WATCH | DRDO Chairman Dr Samir V Kamat says, "…We are also receiving interest for BrahMos, we have exported to the Philippines and we are receiving interest for other countries." https://t.co/QqhNFG5yfX pic.twitter.com/UKSRnD9m2c
— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2024
He said that approximately Rs 4.94 lakh crores worth of DRDO-developed products have either been inducted in defence or have received Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).
#WATCH | Delhi | On DRDO-developed products inducted into the armed forces, DRDO Chairman Dr Samir V Kamat says, "Approximately Rs 4.94 Lakh Crores worth of DRDO-developed products have either got inducted or have received AoN (Acceptance of Necessity) from the DAC (Defence… pic.twitter.com/39gfL4985B
— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2024
“The developments are now increasingly getting done much faster than earlier. My estimate is, more than 60 per cent or 70 per cent of the inducted products are in the last 5-7 years. This rate is going to increase dramatically as we go ahead,” he added.
The BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile system is one of the most successful missile programmes in the world. As the world’s best and fastest precision-guided weapon, BRAHMOS has fortified India’s deterrence power in the 21st century. Designed and developed by India-Russia JV entity BrahMos Aerospace, the supersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS has continued to evolve as the most versatile weapon in its genre. The next-generation variant of the missile has smaller, lighter and smarter dimensions designed for deployment on a wider number of modern military platforms.
(with inputs from ANI)
