In a ceremony to mark the end of the Operator Training BrahMos cruise, Admiral Hari Kumar gave 21 members of the Philippines Navy interim missile badges and pins.
The Philippines Marine Corps wrote on its Facebook page that the trainees “were awarded their interim missile badges and pins by no less than the Indian Navy Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar, in a valedictory ceremony for the Operator Training of the Shore Based Anti-Ship Missile System (SBAMS).” This was an important step towards adding the BrahMos missile to the Philippines Navy.
From January 23 to February 11, “the training focused on how to operate and maintain some of the most important logistics packages of the SBASMS that will be sent to the Philippines.”
In a first, the Philippines agreed to buy a shore-based anti-ship missile system from India in January 2022 for $374.96 million (Rs 2700 cr). The training is an important part of the contract between the Philippines and India for the Philippine Navy shore-based Anti-Ship Missile System Project, which was signed in 2022.
“When the BrahMos missile is added to the Philippine Marine Corps, it will improve your ability to go to sea and contribute to our collective security at sea in the region.
I really hope that the friendships you made here will always be important to you “Commodore Kumar said this in his farewell speech.
Commander of the Coastal Defense Regiment (Provisional) and End-User of the system Col Romulo D Quemado PN(M)(GSC) praised the team for completing the training successfully and said he was optimistic about the future of the CDR with the trained staff. The purchase was seen as a boost to the Philippine Navy’s ability to protect the country’s maritime borders. According to the Philippine Navy, it will also help the PN surface assets do a better job of patrolling the Philippines.
The deal says that the Philippines will get three missile systems with a range of 290 km and a speed of 2.8 Mach (thrice the speed of sound). According to the sources, the deal also includes training for operators and the necessary integrated logistics support package. As the TNIE had already said, India successfully tested the sea-to-sea version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on January 11, 2022.
The version of BrahMos with a longer range was made after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). This meant that the cruise missile’s range was no longer limited. The plan was to start by making the attack range 450 km longer. The BrahMos missile can be fired from submarines, ships, planes, or land. India has talked about the system with Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and a few other countries that are interested in it.
