The Philippines Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released the third milestone payment worth PHP5.67 billion for the Philippine Navy’s (PN) acquisition of the Indian-made BrahMos cruise missile system. The amount was included under the DBM’s Special Allotment Release Order (SARO)-BMB-D-23-0026645 worth PHP11.390 billion on Dec. 11, based on the DBM’s latest SARO list as of Wednesday. The total amount also covers the second milestone payments of the Additional Air Transport Capability Acquisition Project (C130J) and Long Range Patrol Aircraft of the Philippine Air Force worth PHP3.330 billion and PHP2.390 billion respectively, under the the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP).
BrahMos has been selected for the Navy’s Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile System (SBASMS) which is under the RAFPMP. This weapon platform is expected to address the country’s military’s weaknesses and vulnerability in sea control, anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD), and coastal and island defense operations. The first two SAROs for the BrahMos worth PHP1.3 billion and PHP1.535 billion were issued on Dec. 27, 2021. The BrahMos contract is worth PHP18.9 billion. Former DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and BrahMos Aerospace director general Atul Dinkar Rane signed the contract for the BrahMos missile system in a virtual ceremony at defense headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City in January 2022.
The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)[14] is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, fighter aircraft or TEL. The BrahMos is notably the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world. It is a joint-venture between the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is based on P-800 Oniks. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. The land-launched and ship-launched versions are already in service. An air-launched variant of BrahMos which can be fired from the Su-30MKI appeared in 2012 and entered service in 2019
In 2017, the Shore-based Anti-ship Missile System Acquisition Project for the maritime force was first conceptualized, while in 2020 the Office of the President approved its inclusion in the Horizon 2 Priority Projects. In 2021 December 31, BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd’s representatives received the Notice of Award (NOA) for the project worth US$374,962,800. A contract signed on 28 January 2022. It includes at least 3 batteries as part of the agreement. A battery will have at least 3 mobile firing units, plus attached command and control, radar, and support vehicles and units. Each mobile firing unit has 3 ready-to-fire BrahMos anti-ship supersonic missiles, with the export variant having a maximum range of around 290 kilometer.
