India has been working towards developing a very long-range version of the air-launched BrahMos cruise missiles which would be able to hit…reports Asian Lite News
In a major success for the indigenous weapon systems, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has carried out a successful restoration of the air-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in the Bay of Bengal.
The BrahMos air-launched version missile was testfired from a Su-30MKI fighter jet which has the capability to launch the BrahMos cruise missiles that can hit enemy targets at long ranges.
“The BrahMos air-launched missile was fired from a Su-30MKI fighter jet in the last few days. The aircraft had taken off with the missile from an air base in the southern peninsula and travelled over 1,500 Km to successfully strike a target from a longer range than before,” defence officials told ANI.
The missile was the longer-range version of the supersonic weapon system which has been one of the unique weapons possessed by India in partnership with the Russian industry.
India has been working towards developing a very long-range version of the air-launched BrahMos cruise missiles which would be able to hit
The Indian Air Force had recently carried out two trials of the land attack missile system and the results were very good as missiles hit bull’s eye in the user trials, the sources said.
India is also exporting the missiles to friendly foreign countries including the Philippines which would be using them in the coastal battery role.
The BrahMos Aerospace corporation is also looking at exporting the missiles to more countries and helping achieve the export targets set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (By Ajit K Dubey/ANI)
Will New Delhi and Hanoi inch closer to BrahMos deal during Vietnamese defence ministerâs visit?(IN)
The visit follows last month’s talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnam PM Pham Minh Chinh on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima…reports Asian Lite News
One year after the signing of a ‘Joint Vision Statement on Defence Partnership towards 2030’, the India-Vietnam show of camaraderie will be on full display once again as the country’s Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang travels to New Delhi on a two-day visit starting Sunday.
General Giang, who is also a Politburo member of Vietnam’s Communist Party and Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, will call on Rajnath Singh on Monday as the two ministers advance defence ties.
The visit follows last month’s talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnam PM Pham Minh Chinh on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima.
During their discussion, the two leaders noted the steady progress achieved in the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and agreed to enhance high-level exchanges and deepen bilateral trade and investment ties.
They also discussed opportunities in the fields of defence, building resilient supply chains, energy, science and technology, human resource development, culture and people-to-people ties.
Interestingly, after the Philippines, Vietnam too has shown interest in acquiring BrahMos – the potent offensive missile weapon system developed through the joint venture between India (DRDO) and Russia (NPOM) – to strengthen its coastal defence operations.
More than a decade ago, Russia had supplied Vietnam with mobile coastal missile system Bastion with a unified supersonic homing anti-ship missile Yakhont.
Vietnam remains an important pillar of India’s Act East Policy and a key partner of its Indo-Pacific Vision underlined by PM Modi’s Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) initiative.
Signalling its desire to have a less intertwined future with China, Hanoi has been deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with New Delhi since 2016 to maintain peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
Last June, during his visit to the Vietnamese capital at the invitation of his counterpart, Singh spotlighted that both countries share a rich history of civilisational and cultural linkages spanning over 2,000 years.
Besides signing the Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030 which significantly enhances the scope and scale of existing bilateral defence cooperation, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Mutual Logistics Support was also inked during the Defence Minister’s Vietnam visit.
This was dubbed as a major step towards simplifying procedures for mutually beneficial logistic support and was the first such major agreement which Vietnam signed with any country.
India also handed over 12 High-Speed Guard Boats to the Southeast Asian country at Hong Ha Shipyard in Hai Phong as Singh invited Vietnam to become a part of India’s defence industrial transformation through enhanced cooperation that will take forward PM Modi’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’.
“Defence engagements between the two nations have diversified to include wide-ranging contacts between the services, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity building and training programmes, cooperation in UN Peacekeeping, ship visits and bilateral exercises,” the Indian Defence Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Two months ago, Vietnam’s Minister of Public Security General To Lam was in New Delhi for two days with a high-ranking delegation at the invitation of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.
A detailed plan to enhance the linkages on strategic, security and defence matters was worked out as both expressed concerns about actions and incidents in the South China Sea that erode trust in the region.
With India being the current chair of the world’s leading group of developed and emerging economies (G20), Vietnam has thanked India for highlighting the perspectives and concerns of the Global South and always supporting its role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
India and Vietnam also have convergences in the wider maritime context. In October 2021, India and ASEAN adopted a Joint Statement on Cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific for Peace, Stability and Prosperity in the Region.
All three service Chiefs of the Indian Armed Forces have visited Vietnam over the last few years while the Commanders-in-Chief of the Vietnam People’s Navy and Vietnam People’s Air Force have visited India.
Two Indian Naval Ships, INS Shivalik and INS Kamorta paid port calls to Ho Chi Minh City Port in November 2022 and INS Delhi and INS Satpura made a port call at Da Nang Port from May 19 to May 22, last month.
The multi-role and multi-platform BrahMos supersonic missile system has proved its worth on land and sea as well as air..reports Asian Lite News
India’s efforts for self-reliance in defence systems received a further boost on Sunday with the successful precision strike by an Indian Navy ship-launched BrahMos missile equipped with an indigenous seeker and booster.
According to information provided by the Indian Navy, the seeker and booster for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, which was launched in the Arabian Sea, was designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
“#IndianNavy’s successful precision strike in the #ArabianSea by ship launched #BrahMos missile with @DRDO_India designed #Indigenous Seeker & Booster reinforces its commitment towards #AatmaNirbharta. #AatmaNirbharBharat,” the Indian Navy’s Spokesperson tweeted.
The multi-role and multi-platform BrahMos supersonic missile system has proved its worth on land and sea as well as air. Different versions of the missile system have been deployed in all three services – Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.
In January, 2022, an advanced sea-to-sea variant of the BrahMos Supersonic Cruise missile was tested from INS Visakhapatnam. The test was successful with the missile hitting the designated target ship precisely.
The same month, another BrahMos Missile was successfully test fired from the Interim Test Range in Chandipur, Odisha to validate several new indigenous systems successfully demonstrating enhanced capabilities.
Earlier, in December 2021, the DRDO had announced the successful testing of an air version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. It was test fired from a Sukhoi 30 MK-I aircraft at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
BrahMos, which derives it name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers in India and Russia respectively, is a joint venture between India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPOM to develop next-generation supersonic missiles for the Indian Armed Forces. (India News Network)
The induction of these dual-role capable missiles is supposed to significantly enhance the operational capability of Indian Navy…reports Asian Lite News
The Defence Ministry on Thursday signed a Rs 1,700 crore deal for acquisition of additional dual-role capable surface to surface BrahMos missiles.
“Providing further impetus to Aatmanirbharta in defence production, the Ministry of Defence signed a contract today with BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd (BAPL) for acquisition of additional dual-role capable surface to curface BrahMos missiles at an overall approximate cost of Rs 1,700 crore under Buy-Indian Category,” the ministry said in a statement.
The induction of these dual-role capable missiles is supposed to significantly enhance the operational capability of Indian Navy.
The BAPL is a joint venture between India and Russia making crucial contribution to augment the new generation surface-to-surface Missiles (SSMs) with enhanced range and dual role capability for land as well as anti-ship attacks.
This contract is going to give further boost to indigenous production of critical weapon system and ammunition with active participation of indigenous industry, said the ministry.
Defence Expo in Cape Town
Indian High Commissioner in South Africa Jaideep Sarkar on Wednesday inaugurated the BrahMos Aerospace corporation pavilion on the inaugural day of the Africa Aerospace and the Defence Expo in Cape Town.
India-Russia defence Joint Venture BrahMos Aerospace is capable of making hypersonic missiles completed its glorious 25 years since its formation in 1998.
Coinciding with India’s 75 years of Independence, BrahMos Aerospace has commenced the ‘Silver Jubilee Year’ celebrations, for 2022-2023, to mark the incredible journey of one of India’s most successful, cutting-edge military partnership programmes that have produced the world’s best, fastest and most powerful modern precision strike weapon BrahMos.
In the field of defence, India has longstanding and wide-ranging cooperation with Russia. India-Russia military-technical cooperation has evolved from a buyer-seller framework to one involving joint research, development and production of advanced defence technologies and systems. BrahMos Missile System as well as the licensed production in India of SU-30 aircraft and T-90 tanks are examples of such flagship cooperation.
The defence cooperation between India and Russia is historically deep and built on trust. In 2021-22, there was a sustained momentum in India’s traditionally close ties with Russia and other countries in the Eurasian region despite the negative impacts of the pandemic.
The special role of Russia in India’s foreign policy was highlighted by the successful visit of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to India for the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit and the holding of the first India-Russia 2+2 Dialogue of Foreign and Defence Ministers, as well as the 20th meeting of India- Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation in New Delhi on 6 December 2021.
During the year, there were regular high-level exchanges between India and Russia at the Ministerial and senior official levels, including a number of virtual meetings.
Russians and Indians, both value and share values like friendship and loyalty, and this is something that unites the people of the two countries and especially the members of their permanent bureaucracies in ways that outside observers rarely ever realize.
The particularly privileged strategic partnership between the two countries has become stronger and more diversified over a period of time. (IANS/ANI)
According to Pakistani military officials on March 10, the missile flew for 3 minutes and 46 seconds within Pakistani airspace…reports Asian Lite News
The Indian Air Force on Tuesday sacked three personnel for the firing of a BrahMos missile into Pakistani territory.
The IAF in a statement said, “BrahMos missile was accidentally fired on 09 March 2022. A Court of Inquiry (CoI), set up to establish the facts of the case, including fixing responsibility for the incident, found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by three officers led to the accidental firing of the missile.”
“These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the Central Govt with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on 23 Aug 22,” the statement added.
The incident was reported on March 9 this year. It was said that during “routine maintenance and inspection,” a BrahMos missile was accidentally launched into the territory of Pakistan in the vicinity of Mian Channu town, travelling more than 120 kms west of the India-Pakistan border.
According to Pakistani military officials on March 10, the missile flew for 3 minutes and 46 seconds within Pakistani airspace.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the backchannel talks between Pakistan and India met a dead end as both sides have struggled to agree on the moves that may pave the way for slow but gradual improvement in the relationship.
“Talks have been going on but have reached a point where things aren’t moving anywhere,” The Express Tribune report quoted a source as saying.
There has been a desire from both sides to break the impasse but the issue is how to move forward from this point onwards, the source explained.
What has slowed down the process was the political uncertainty in Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported.
There was a glimmer of hope for a possible thaw in the relationship following the change of government in Pakistan in April.
What spurred the optimism was that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first leaders to congratulate his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif when the latter assumed office in April.
The source said backchannel contacts that began during the PTI government’s tenure picked up pace in April after the change of government.
But despite “intense” backchannel diplomacy, the two sides were not willing to concede an inch on their respective issues.
#BEAKING | #Brahmos missile misfire into Pakistan's territory issue: Services of 3 Indian Air Force officers terminated with immediate effect for deviating from SOPs
Pakistan is keen that India must take steps with regards to Kashmir before any process of normalisation of ties begins. New Delhi, however, is more interested in Islamabad first exploring the option of resuming bilateral trade, The Express Tribune quoted the source as saying further.
The friction in the relationship prevented Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers from interacting with each other at the recent meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tashkent.
Philippines considers the West Philippines Sea as its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) but China wants it to remain as part of the South China Sea over which it claims full control…reports Asian Lite News
After a deal with India for the induction of anti-ship Brahmos missiles, the Philippines government seems interested in upgrading its fleet of military aircraft with help from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
According to sources, HAL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation (PADC) in April that may lead to export of India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).
However, a lot will depend on Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who will be taking over as president of the Philippines in June.
The greatest threat to Philippines is China that refuses to acknowledge the arbitration order granting Philippines sovereignty over the West Philippines Sea.
Philippines considers the West Philippines Sea as its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) but China wants it to remain as part of the South China Sea over which it claims full control.
Marcos Jr has his task cut out for him. He has to either oppose China’s stance to claim its rights over the West Philippines Sea or face reprisal in his own country.
Most of the population in the Philippines are against China’s bullying in the South China Sea region. No wonder, Brahmos missile batteries have been inducted.
If there is one weapon that China fears the most, its the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile, considered the most lethal in its class in the world.
China had even raised objections (even diplomatically) when Brahmos carrying Su-30 MKI fighters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) landed at upgraded Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) in Arunachal Pradesh, close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China.
During his election campaign, Marcos Jr had indicated that he plans to resolve issues with China through bilateral dialogue.
Unfortunately, China does not think that way. It is on an expansionist mode and would give little thought to countries like the Philippines that have not aligned with it against the US or the Quad (an agreement between the US, India, Australia and Japan).
The Quad nations have been regularly sending warships into the South China Sea to establish rights of passage.
Unlike Pakistan, which continues to receive Chinese military hardware, if not for anything else but to keep India on the tenterhooks, the armed forces in the Philippines have relied so long on antiquated equipment supplied by US allies like South Korea.
The fighter aircraft operated by the Philippine Air Force are the FA-50PH that are little more than a supersonic trainer aircraft built by South Korea. Its assault helicopters are from Turkey and are no longer a potent threat.
“Given the size of the country, Philippines does not require heavy or even medium fighters. The Philippine Air Force is on the lookout for light combat aircraft. It has been established that the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) developed by HAL and being inducted by the IAF are the best in its class in the world.
The Secretary had also visited the Indian Western Naval Command in Mumbai and companies which manufacture defence-related supplies and equipment, paving way for further bilateral defence cooperation…reports Asian Lite News.
Exactly six months before his term expires, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has added final touches to the modernization of the country’s armed forces with acquisition of missile corvettes, Black Hawk combat helicopters, Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.
Philippine government’s Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on December 27 released two Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) to cover the initial funding requirements of the ‘Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile System Acquisition Project’ of the Philippine Navy under the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Programme.
While the first SARO is worth PHP1.3 billion (over $27 million), the second amounts to PHP1.535 billion.
“The medium-range ramjet supersonic BrahMos cruise missile system is being eyed for this project,” reported Philippine News Agency, the newswire service of the Philippine government.
Manila’s military material procurement plans, which had gone haywire after the Covid-19 outbreak, have witnessed quite a surge recently considering the escalating regional tensions, especially China’s strategic expansion into the South China Sea.
Manila's military material procurement plans,which gone haywire after #COVID19 outbreak,have witnessed quite a surge recently considering the escalating regional tensions,especially China's strategic expansion into the South China Sea#IndiaNarrativehttps://t.co/hFjKagozZA
On Tuesday, the Department of National Defence (DND) of the Philippines had signed a PHP 28-billion contract with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the acquisition of two brand-new corvettes for the country’s Navy.
“Those (Black Hawks from Poland and OPVs from Australia) could be the last two contracts to be signed next month,” said country’s Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, two days ago.
Lorenzana had visited India in March 2018, along with a six-man delegation including his Under Secretary for Finance and Materiel Raymundo DV Elefante, and held meetings with then Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the South Block.
The Secretary had also visited the Indian Western Naval Command in Mumbai and companies which manufacture defence-related supplies and equipment, paving way for further bilateral defence cooperation.
Manila’s long wait to get BrahMos
Philippines has shown interest in acquiring BrahMos – the potent offensive missile weapon system developed through the joint venture between India (DRDO) and Russia (NPOM) – ever since the indigenously built stealth warship INS Sahyadri docked at Manila South Harbour in October 2019 along with an anti-submarine corvette, INS Kiltan.
Senior ranking Philippine Army (PA) officials visited the guided missile stealth frigate and learnt more about its missile capabilities which included the BrahMos.
“The Philippine Army is interested in acquiring this type of missile as it will strengthen our coastal defence operations,” PA spokesperson Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, had said in a statement then.
A month later, Lorenzana confirmed that the country is eyeing acquisition of the supersonic missile which has established itself as a major force multiplier in modern-day complex battlefields with its impeccable anti-ship and land-attack capabilities.
“The Army is looking at it… There is money for it as per our modernization programme,” the defence chief was quoted as saying by the PNA, saying that the Philippines is keen on buying “two batteries” of BrahMos.
However, the acquisition hit the Covid roadblock in 2020 as Manila said that getting enough funds to acquire the missiles from India remains a challenge.
“The Brahmos (programme) is moving forward but the challenge now is (the) funding,” Lorenzana said in November 2020.
It was on March 2 this year that the two countries finally signed an agreement for the supply of BrahMos with Philippine Defence Undersecretary Raymund Elefante and India’s Ambassador to Manila Shambu Kumaran completing the formalities at Camp Aguinaldo, headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“As of now, it is a go. The implementing agreement recently signed will facilitate the G2G (government-to-government) mode of procurement,” Lorenzana said.
However, possibly due to the funding crunch, the top official said that the country would be procuring only one battery (“Three systems na yan (it will consist of three systems),” Lorenzana said), as of now.
Duterte’s love for India
Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has repeatedly asserted that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India could further enhance cooperation in fighting terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crimes through exchanges of best practices and information.
Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
Speaking at the virtual 18th ASEAN-India Summit in October, the Filipino leader had thanked India for its consistent affirmation of the importance of the rule of law in the South China Sea, freedom of navigation and peaceful resolution of disputes, in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS.
Duterte called India a reliable partner of ASEAN and said that the Philippines looks forward to 2022 as ASEAN-India Friendship Year and commits to continue strengthening ASEAN-India relations for mutual gain.
However, they noted that the new weapon would be only of theoretical use while posing no actual threat to China’s security, the report said…reports Asian Lite News.
Chinese observers slammed the Indian government’s plan to deploy the BrahMos missile – its most advanced missile – at the India-China border, warning it would add new barriers in talks to peacefully address the border tension and further deteriorate ties, Global Times reported.
However, they noted that the new weapon would be only of theoretical use while posing no actual threat to China’s security, the report said.
India TV news reported on Friday that the Indian government has backed the ambitious Char Dham road project, for “wider roads are needed to transport missiles like the BrahMos and other military equipment” to the western part of the India-China border, Global Times reported.
"#China could strike and destroy #BrahMos missile silos and other military facilities in advance in events of conflicts " Song Zhongping, Chinese military expert. pic.twitter.com/725EFP955I
The BrahMos is the most advanced supersonic cruise missile India has. Developed since 2007, it can be installed on ships, submarines, aircraft and ground vehicles and has a range of up to 290 kilometres and a maximum speed of Mach 3, according to Army Technology.
“This is why tension keeps rising along the China-India border and unwanted military conflicts broke out,” said Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert. The deployment of the BrahMos shows India’s unstoppable greedy ambition to encroach on western China’s territory, Song told the Global Times on Sunday.
Song said that despite the theoretical threat to China’s border security, the People’s Liberation Army has been strengthening its air defense capability to intercept supersonic cruise missiles like the BrahMos, the report said.
Global Times said China could even strike and destroy BrahMos missile silos and other military facilities in advance in events of conflicts, Song emphasised, explaining that “India’s poor infrastructure construction in west section of China-India border limits the manoeuvrability and invisibility of the missile base.”
The deployment of the BrahMos can be interpreted as India’s pretense of taking a tough stand over the matter, contrary to the fact that the two sides both emphasize the need to address the border issues through peaceful talks, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Sunday.
