Dialogues with Indonesia are in a progressive phase for exporting the Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. The contract will be signed soon. However, due to that country’s interior consequences, the agreement is expected to be closed by year-end or prematurely next year.
Indonesia is predicted to purchase the ship-borne variant of the cruise missile for its warships, and a duo from the Indo-Russian mutual incident, BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL), has already seen Indonesia’s shipyard to study the chance of conforming the missile, according to Financial Express Online.
If confirmed, Indonesia will be the second ASEAN-member nation to purchase Indo-Russian missiles.
In January, the Philippines marked a $375 million deal with BAPL for the shore-based variant of the BrahMos anti-ship missile, which according to the then defence chief, Delfin Lorenzana, will be used to safeguard the nation’s independence, especially in the argued South China Sea.
India’s outstanding weapon: BrahMos Supersonic Missile
The BrahMos missile is one of the quickest supersonic cruise missiles on earth. Due to its incredible pace of Mach 2.8 – nearly three times the rate of sound, the missile is notoriously challenging to block
The 8.4-meter long BrahMos missile can produce a traditional warhead considering up to 300 kilograms. The recent variants of the missile have about 500 kilometres of coverage. However, the range of the export performance of the missile is limited to 290 kilometres to yield with the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) conditions of 300 kilometres.
Thus, the BrahMos missile is a potent mix of high pace and tremendous deadly power. The land and naval performances of the missile weigh 2.9 tons, whereas the air performance is lighter, weighing 2.5 tons so that it can be fired from a touching podium.
New Delhi’s New Strategy To Counter Beijing
Apart from the Philippines and Indonesia, Vietnam is also curious about developing the Brahmos missile. It is also an ASEAN member and thus offers a massive chance for India to achieve a strategic foothold within the southeast Asia area to challenge China.
These nations, plus Brunei and Malaysia, have territorial conflicts with China over the South China Sea (SCS) province, and they are all affected by the growing militancy of Beijing in maintaining its marine shares.
Similar problems have been experienced by other nations, such as Vietnam, which in March blamed China for violating its EEZ by conducting military exercises in waters between the Hainan area and Vietnam.
According to experts, BrahMos missiles will enable countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam to operate their version of the anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) system that China schemes to contrast the US Navy in the SCS region.
Apart from the ASEAN countries, India is also known to be in conversations with Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa for the deal of BrahMos missiles, as New Delhi aims to improve its defence exports which will support its domestic security exhibition, as part of the government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives.