India finalising ₹15,000 crore+ deal for 200 more BrahMos missiles for Navy

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In another mega deal for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, the defence ministry of India is now finalizing the acquisition of over 200 more such extended range missiles for frontline warships of the Navy.

The procurement proposal for the missiles and associated equipment will soon be taken up for consideration by the Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC). “It will then be sent for the final nod to the PM-led cabinet committee on security,” a source told TOI on Sunday.

The exact contours of the deal, which will include deliveries over a long period, are being fine-tuned at present. “The actual cost will depend on the BrahMos numbers and configurations that finally get cleared…but it’s likely to be upwards of Rs 15,000 crore,” a source said.

Indian Navy on Tuesday successfully tested Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) from destroyer INS Visakhapatnam, validating the capability to engage anti-ship missiles. MRSAM is designed to destroy hostile aircraft, helicopters cruise missiles and drones at 70km range.

Among other warships, these missiles will also be for the four Project-15B destroyers (two INS Visakhapatnam and INS Mormugao have been commissioned) as well as seven Project-17A frigates (five `launched’ in water till now).

Ten frontline warships are already armed with the BrahMos missiles jointly developed by Russia, which fly almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8, while its vertical launch systems have also been installed on another five warships.

The Navy, incidentally, had tested the air-breathing BrahMos with “an indigenous seeker and booster designed by DRDO” from a warship in the Arabian Sea on March 5.

The armed forces are now also progressively inducting the upgraded BrahMos missiles, with an extended range of 450-km from the original 290-km. A 800-km range variant of BrahMos has also undergone its maiden test, while a couple of more are slated this year, as was earlier reported by TOI.

BrahMos has emerged as the “prime conventional (non-nuclear) strike weapon” for the armed forces over the years, with contracts worth over Rs 38,000 crore already inked till now.

All frontline warships will progressively be armed with BrahMos. The DAC on January 10, for instance, had approved the procurement of the BrahMos launchers and fire control systems for the Shivalik-class frigates and next-generation missile vessels “for enhanced capability to carry out maritime strike operations, interdicting and destroying enemy’s warships and merchant vessels”.

Similarly, the IAF is looking to arm another 20-25 Sukhoi-30MKI fighters with the BrahMos after getting the first lot of 40 jets modified by Hindustan Aeronautics to carry the missile.

With a combat radius of almost 1,500-km without mid-air refuelling, Sukhois armed with BrahMos missiles constitute a decidedly potent weapon package for pinpointed strikes against high-value targets like warships on the high seas or enemy positions, bunkers, command-and-control centres and the like on land.

The Army’s BrahMos missile batteries, incidentally, have been deployed in both Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh as part of the overall military readiness posture against China along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control.

India is also looking to export the BrahMos to other countries after inking the first such $375 million contract for three anti-ship coastal missile batteries with the Philippines in January 2022. (The Times of India)