BrahMos Export to Philippines

• 03 Feb 2022

For Prelims: BrahMos, Missile, South China Sea

For Mains: Defence Technology, Defence Exports.

Why in News?

Recently, Philippines has signed a deal with BrahMos Aerospace Private Ltd. for the supply of a shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. This is the first export order for the missile, a joint product of India and Russia.

• The Philippines wants to induct this missile amid tensions with China over the disputed islands in the South China Sea.
• Several countries have shown interest in acquiring the BrahMos missile. For example, discussions are in advanced stages with Indonesia and Thailand.

What are the features of BrahMos Missile?

• BrahMos is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO) and the NPOM of Russia.
  • BrahMos is named on the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva.
• It is a two-stage (solid propellant engine in the first stage and liquid ramjet in second) missile.
• It is a multiplatform missile i.e it can be launched from land, air, and sea and multi capability missile with pinpoint accuracy that works in both day and night irrespective of the weather conditions.
• It operates on the "Fire and Forgets" principle i.e it does not require further guidance after launch.
• Brahmos is one of the fastest cruise missiles currently operationally deployed with speed of Mach 2.8, which is nearly 3 times more than the speed of sound.
• Recently, an Advance Version of BrahMos (extended range sea-to-sea variant) was test fired.
  • Following India’s entry into the MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) club in June 2016, the range is planned to be extended to 450 km and to 600km at a later stage.
  • The BrahMos missile was initially developed with a range capped at 290 km.

What is Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)?

• It is an informal and voluntary partnership among 35 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying greater than 500 kg payload for more than 300 km.
• The members are thus prohibited from supplying such missiles and UAV systems that are controlled by the MTCR to non-members.
• The decisions are taken by consensus of all the members.
• This is a non–treaty association of member countries with certain guidelines about the information sharing, national control laws and export policies for missile systems and a rule-based regulation mechanism to limit the transfer of such critical technologies of these missile systems.
• It was established in April 1987 by G-7 countries – USA, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, and Japan.

What is the Status of India’s Defence Exports?

• Defence exports are a pillar of the government’s drive to attain self-sufficiency in defence production.
• Over 30 Indian defence companies have exported arms and equipment to countries like Italy, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Russia, France, Nepal, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Israel, Egypt, UAE, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Poland, Spain and Chile.
• The exports include personal protective items, defence electronics systems, engineering mechanical equipment, offshore patrol vessels, advanced light helicopters, avionics suits, radio systems and radar systems.
• However, India’s defense exports are still not upto the expected lines.
  • The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) ranked India at number 23 in the list of major arms exporters for 2015-2019.
  • India still accounts for only 0.17% of global arms exports.
• Reason for dismal performance in India’s Defense exports is that, India’s Ministry of Defense so far has no dedicated agency to drive exports.
  • Exports are left to individual corporations, like BrahMos or the defence public shipyards and undertakings.
• In this context, the KPMG report titled ‘Defence Exports: Untapped Potential recommends the first step of setting up of an exclusive “defence export help desk”.
  • On the basis of inputs from the help-desk, the report says, Indian companies could work with government machinery to realise exports.
• If India is successful in providing big-ticket military systems to countries in the neighbourhood, it won’t just be a boost for defence exports but will also be a strategic step to counter China’s influence as it provides defence products in Asia, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Source: TH