India set to begin delivery of BrahMos missiles to Philippines
The ground systems will reach the southeast Asian country in the next 10 days followed by the missiles that will be delivered by March
New Delhi: India is set to begin the delivery of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines, two years after the two countries signed a deal worth almost $375 million to equip the Philippine Marines with three batteries of the missiles.
The ground systems will reach the southeast Asian country in the next 10 days followed by the missiles that will be delivered by March, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief Samir V Kamat told a section of the media on Thursday.
This is the first export order for the BrahMos missile developed by India and Russia.
India has set a defence export target of ₹35,000 crore by 2024-25. In November 2022, Indian defence firm Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited won an export order worth $155.5 million for supplying artillery guns to Armenia, the first order won by a local company for the 155mm weapon system. Kalyani will execute the order by 2025. That order came on the back of Armenia choosing to buy the Pinaka rocket system from India.
Military exports have risen sharply, and imports have recorded a drop on the back of policy initiatives and reforms during the past nine years, the officials said. Exports grew 23 times between 2013-14 and 2022-23 (from ₹686 crore to ₹16,000 crore), while the spending on imported weapons and systems dropped from 46% of the total expenditure in 2018-19 to 36.7% in December 2022, according to defence ministry data.
India is currently exporting military hardware to more than 85 countries, with around 100 domestic firms involved. The hardware includes missiles, artillery guns, rockets, armoured vehicles, offshore patrol vessels, personal protective gear, a variety of radars, surveillance systems and ammunition.
India is exporting bullet-proof jackets to 34 countries including Australia, Japan, Israel and Brazil, ammunition (ranging from 5.56mm to 155mm) to around 10 countries including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Indonesia and Thailand, fast interceptor boats to Mauritius, Seychelles and the Maldives, and defence electronics to countries like the US, the UK and France, as previously reported.
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Countries in south America, Africa, central Asia and southeast Asia have also shown interest in weapons and systems manufactured by India, the officials said.
Aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) plans to create a new vertical to push exports as it pursues opportunities to sell fighter jets and helicopters to several countries. HT was the first to report on the organisational restructuring at HAL, which will set up the new vertical under a CEO-ranked officer. It is currently eyeing exports to countries including Argentina, Nigeria, Egypt and the Philippines, which are interested in the light combat aircraft (LCA) Mk-1A and the advanced light helicopter (ALH).
India has taken several measures during the last five to six years to boost self-reliance. These include imposing phased bans on import of weapons, creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, increasing foreign direct investment from 49% to 74% and improving ease of doing business. India is eyeing a turnover of ₹1.75 lakh crore in defence manufacturing by 2025.
In October 2023, the defence ministry slapped an import ban on 98 weapons and systems including futuristic infantry combat vehicles, shipborne unmanned aerial systems, medium-range precision kill systems, a variety of ammunition, radars, sensors, and equipment for fighter jets, maritime surveillance planes, warships, helicopters and tanks.
The fifth positive indigenisation list, released by defence minister Rajnath Singh in October, took the number of defence items placed under an import ban during the last three years to 509.
In May 2023, India announced that the value of defence production in the country had crossed ₹1 lakh crore for the first time on the back of key reforms to spur growth in the sector. The value of defence production by state-run companies and the private sector has almost doubled over the past five years.