CONTEXT

• Recently, India and the Philippines signed the “Implementing Arrangement” for “procurement of defence material and equipment procurement”.
• This agreement lays the groundwork for sales of defence systems such as the highly anticipated export of the BrahMos cruise missile, through the government-to-government route.
• This deal will be of great significance for multiple reasons, and even though the procurement process is progressing steadfastly, there are many challenges that lie ahead.

ABOUT BRAHMOS

• Research and development of the BrahMos cruise missile systems began in the late 1990s.
• It is manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace Limited, a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the joint stock company Military Industrial Consortium NPO Mashinostroyenia (earlier known as the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPOM of Russia).

SIGNIFICANCE

• This is the first supersonic cruise missile to enter service and is capable of attaining a speed of Mach 2.8 (almost three times the speed of sound)
• It has a range of at least 290 km (a new version can reach up to 400km).
• Travelling with such velocity makes interception difficult for air defence systems utilising surface-to-air missiles, while making it easier for BrahMos to target and neutralise advanced fighter jets.
• Efforts to increase the speed and range of the missile in its next iterations are under way, with a goal of achieving hypersonic speeds (at or above Mach 5) and a maximum range of 1,500 km.
• The missile has already been inducted into all three services of Indian defence.

EXPORT AS A GOAL

• Exporting the system has been on the agenda for more than a decade.
• Doing so would boost the credibility of India as a defence exporter and will help it meet the target of $5 billion in defence exports by 2025.
• It will also help Indian to elevate their stature as a regional superpower.
• Countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa have so far shown an interest in acquiring the systems.

GEO- POLITICAL IMPACT

• The implications of the Philippines becoming the first country to import the BrahMos would be wide-ranging and consequential in the Indo-Pacific.
• It would caution China, with whom the Philippines has been engaged in a territorial conflict in the South China Sea, and will act as a deterrent to Beijing’s aggressive posturing.
• Further, taking lessons from the Philippines,  other nations threatened by Chinese belligerence may come forward to induct the BrahMos into their arsenal.
• This will boost India’s economic, soft, and hard power profile in the region, providing the Indo-Pacific with a strong and dependable anchor with which they can protect their sovereignty and territory.

POSSIBLE CHALLENGES

There exists two major roadblocks in the Manila deal.

• First is the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which aims to sanction individuals and entities who engage in a “significant transaction” with a listed entity.
• NPO Mashinostroyenia is one of the listed Russian entities, and since 65% of the components, including the ramjet engine and radar seeker used in the BrahMos, are reportedly provided by NPO Mashinostroyenia, the export of the missile systems may attract sanctions.
• Also, hesitant of being sanctioned themselves, countries may shy away from purchasing the BrahMos.
• However, there is an excellent case for India to receive a waiver from CAATSA, especially vis-à-vis the BrahMos that can help contain a confrontational China.
• The second issue pertains to financing. A regiment of the BrahMos, including a mobile command post, four missile-launcher vehicles, several missile carriers, and 90 missiles, reportedly costs around $275.77 million (₹2,000 crore).
• Ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries which are interested in the BrahMos would find it difficult to purchase it.

With India determined to develop itself as a hub of defence manufacturing, how it handles the sale of the BrahMos would be an important factor in its potential emergence as a net provider of regional security in the Indo-Pacific.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/aligning-a-missile-deal-with-destination-manila/article34094305.ece