2nd Export Customer For BrahMos: After Philippines, Indo-Russian Missile Likely To Get 2nd Buyer In S.E Asia?

 

The Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace is expecting a new export deal soon. After the Philippines opted for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, many Southeast Asian countries, especially Indonesia and Vietnam, expressed interest in buying the missile to counter China’s rise.

BrahMos’ new director general, Jaiteerth Joshi, has said that the firm is expecting a new export order soon.

“There are many countries that have evinced a strong interest in buying BrahMos. We are advancing our negotiations with all the interested parties and are quite hopeful of signing our next export order soon,” he said. The portfolio of orders of the Indian-Russian producer of supersonic missiles BrahMos has reached $7 billion.

Earlier in 2024, Managing Co-Director of BrahMos Aerospace Alexander Maksichev was quoted by the Russian agency TASS saying that Indonesia, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates have expressed interest in the missile.

The Indo-Russian missiles have already been deployed in the South China Sea after India delivered the first batch of BrahMos to the Philipines. The delivery has come at a time when Beijing has been upping the ante against Manila, and its acts of aggression have turned the South China Sea into a tinderbox waiting to explode into a conflict.

India has also been pushing its weapon systems to the Southeast Asian countries to help them against the expansionist designs of China. India is working through the Line of Credit (LoC) method to help the Southeast Asian countries to bolster their defenses.

The BrahMos delivery to the Philippines is seen as the first step towards purchasing more military hardware from India. It also signifies New Delhi’s overcoming of its reticence to become a “big player” in the South China Sea.