India To Begin Exporting Ground Systems For BrahMos Missiles In Next 10 Days

DRDO chief Kamat said that the cruise missiles are expected to be sent by March this year.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman Samir V. Kamat has said that India is set to begin exporting ground systems for BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles in the next 10 days. Speaking to news agency ANI, he said that the cruise missiles are expected to be sent by March this year.

The BrahMos is a Mach 3 cruise missile that can engage any surface- or sea-based target at a distance of 300 km and has been produced with Russian collaboration in India.

Last year, in November, the Indian Navy said it successfully test-fired a BrahMos missile from one of its warships in the Bay of Bengal. The missile had achieved all mission objectives. The chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation said the first set of BrahMos missile systems is expected to reach the 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)," Kamat said, as quoted by ANI.

BrahMos missile exports to the Philippines are the biggest ever 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 a shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.

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, as quoted by ANI. "So far, a lot of our hull-mounted sonars and lightweight torpedoes have been exported, radars, we have now a lot of interested countries on Pinaka, among others," the top DRDO official said.

Kamat 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).

"The developments are now increasingly getting done much faster than earlier. My estimate is that more than 60 percent, or 70 percent, of the inducted products are in the last 5-7 years. This rate is going to increase dramatically as we go ahead," he added, as quoted by ANI.