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BrahMos an important part of PH deterrent capability - DND chief

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno
August 8, 2025, 11:01 am

MANILA -- The Indian-made BrahMos cruise missile system, three batteries of which were acquired by the Philippines in 2022, is an important part of the country's deterrent capabilities, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Thursday.

"The experience has been very, very enlightening for us. It is an important part of our deterrent package and we will continue to advance discussions on how we can envelop the partnership on a sustainable basis," he said in response to queries of Indian media about the Brahmos missile in Philippine service and whether there are plans to acquire more units.

Teodoro is part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s delegation in his state visit to India from Aug. 4 to 8.

Earlier, Marcos said the Philippines is in the process of acquiring more BrahMos cruise missile systems as part of the ongoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program.

Then defense chief Delfin Lorenzana and BrahMos Aerospace director general Atul Dinkar Rane signed the contract for three BrahMos cruise system batteries, worth PHP18.9 billion, in a virtual ceremony in January 2022.

A battery usually consists of three to six launchers along with monitoring and tracking components, as well as logistics support vehicles. The first BrahMos battery was delivered in April last year.

However, the DND and the AFP have yet to issue any updates regarding the status of the BrahMos acquisition project.

The BrahMos cruise missile can be launched from a ship, aircraft, submarine, or land. It has a top speed of about Mach 2.8 (about 3,400 km. per hour), and is capable of carrying warheads weighing 200 kg. to 300 kg.

This weapon platform is expected to address the country's military's weaknesses and vulnerability in sea control, anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD), and coastal and island defense operations.

Aside from this, Teodoro said the Philippines and India are looking to leverage commonalities and kinship for mutual resilience and growth amid complex regional challenges.

"It is only natural to throw back to our civilizational ties and our people-to-people exchanges, and to rekindle these into mutual resilience, growth, and helping each other grow," he said of the establishment of the Philippines-India Strategic Partnership, launched by Marcos and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"There are a lot of lessons that we can learn from India and vice versa, and it is only natural that we leverage on these similarities and kinships in order to move forward for the future generations."

Teodoro also noted that India is among the countries that have acknowledged the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea, and shared that the Philippine and Indian Navies recently held the inaugural bilateral maritime cooperative activity (MCA).

"The first (MCA) was just concluded in international waters and, of course, territorial waters of the Philippines," he said.

He added that it is only fitting that the two Navies conduct their first MCA as the two nations mark the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

"It is fitting that both our navies commemorate this, too, with the first visible mutual or joint activity that we conduct," Teodoro said. (PNA)