Philippine Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzana has said that his country is currently planning to acquire only one battery of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from India, according to local media reports published on 10 March.
The state-owned Philippine News Agency (PNA) quoted Lorenzana as saying that the battery, which is set to be operated as a land-based coastal defence system, will consist of “three systems”. A battery typically consists of three mobile launchers, each of which is fitted with tracking systems and two or three missile tubes.
Philippine Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenza has been quoted by local media as saying that Manila is planning to acquire only one BrahMos missile battery for the AFP. (Janes/Patrick Allen)
The purchase, which is to be part of a government-to-government agreement, is still awaiting approval by the commander-in-chief, as well as subsequent funding, Philippine Navy Chief Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo was quoted by the PNA as saying.
The latest developments come after Manila and New Delhi signed an agreement in early March to support the planned acquisition of the Indian-Russian BrahMos for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The new accord – known as the ‘Implementing Arrangement Concerning the Procurement of Defence Material and Wquipment’ – provided a government-level framework for the Philippines to procure the BrahMos missiles and potentially other Indian defence equipment.
Manila has previously identified the BrahMos missile as a priority purchase in light of growing concerns about Chinese assertiveness in its territorial waters.
In December 2019 Lorenzana announced that the Department of National Defense was planning to order the BrahMos system in 2020. However, that schedule was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the Philippine government to repurpose funding previously allocated for military procurements.
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