• India delivered the first batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines on April 19.

• The supplies came after two years India signed a $375 million deal with the Southeast Asian nation to supply the weapon systems.

• It was the first export of the BrahMos missile by India.

• Under the January 2022 deal, India will supply three batteries of the missiles, their launchers and related equipment.

• India has been looking at further expanding defence ties with the Philippines against the backdrop of growing global concerns over China’s increasing military assertiveness in the South China Sea.

• A few other countries including Argentina have also shown interest in procuring BrahMos missiles from India.

BrahMos missile

• BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.

• BrahMos evolved out of the joint efforts of Indian and Russian scientists, under the joint venture company BrahMos Aerospace, DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyenia of Russia along with a consortium of Indian and Russian industries.

• The company came into existence consequent to an inter-governmental agreement signed between the two countries in February 1998. 

• The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence of two great nations represented by two great rivers — Brahmaputra of India and River Moskva of Russia.

• The modular design of the missile and its capability of being launched at different orientations enables it to be integrated with a wide spectrum of platforms like warships, submarines and different types of aircraft.

• It operates on fire-and-forget principle, adopting varieties of flights on its way to the target. Its destructive power is enhanced due to large kinetic energy on impact. 

• BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.

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