State-run Philippine News Agency reported that the Philippine Army (PA) is set to get Indian-made BrahMos medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missiles within the third horizon of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP). The Philippine Army’s acquisition of BrahMos is programmed under the 3rd Horizon (Year 2023-2027) of the RAFPMP. Hence, the PA is yet to acquire said units since we are still on the 2nd Horizon (2018-2022) wherein some of the programmed acquisitions are still (in) process. The concept of coastal defense have to provide much further into the sea to weaken advancing enemy forces and much further inland to protect against envelopment and isolation
The acquisition of two batteries will serve as the general support artillery unit in coastal defense that will the joint force in territorial defense. The BrahMos project is worth USD374,962,800 (around PHP19 billion). On December 31, Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana signed the Notice of Award for the Navy BrahMos’ acquisition project which is a government-to-government deal signed with India. It includes the delivery of three batteries, training for operators and maintainers as well as the necessary Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) package. The Philippine Marine Corps’ Coastal Defense Regiment will be the primary user of the BrahMos missile system.
The BrahMos (designated PJ-10) is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, aircraft or land. It is notably one of the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world.[15] It is a joint venture between the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. The BrahMos cruise missile can be launched from a ship, aircraft, submarine, or land and has a top speed of around Mach 2.8 (around 3,400 km. per hour), and is capable of carrying warheads weighing 200 to 300 kilograms.
The GBASM system is a mobile system with long-range precision capability to destroy hostile warships in territorial defense. GBASM system will form part of the layered defense strategy and will be under the Army Artillery Regiment. The weapon will also provide area denial as the operational situation requires. The GBASM is designed to be launched from land to hit targets at sea with high speed and precision. It has an all-weather, long-range capability of 250-300 km. Its launch platform consists of two missiles in a ready-to-launch configuration on containers. The system also uses a radar and fire control system for coordinating the launch.
