NEW DELHI: Admiral Hari Kumar awarded 21 personnel of the Philippines Navy their interim missile badges and pins in a valedictory ceremony for completing the Operator Training BrahMos cruise.
Taking an important step towards induction of the BrahMos missile into the Philippines Navy, the Philippines Marine Corps wrote on its Facebook page that the trainees "were awarded their interim missile badges and pins by no less than the Indian Navy Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar, in a valedictory ceremony for the Operator Training of the Shore Based Anti-Ship Missile System (SBASMS)."
The training which ran from January 23 to February 11, "focused on the operations and maintenance of some of the most important logistics package of the SBASMS that will be delivered to the Philippines."
In a first, the Philippines approved a $374.96 million (Rs 2700 cr) contract for the purchase of a shore-based anti-ship missile system from India in January 2022. The training is a critical package included in the Philippine Navy shore-based Anti-Ship Missile System Project Contract that was signed by the Philippines and India in 2022.
"The induction of the BrahMos missile into the Philippine Marine Corps will strengthen your maritime capability and will also contribute to our collective maritime security within the region...I sincerely hope that you’ll always cherish the bonds of friendship you had during your stay here," said Adm. Kumar during his valedictory remarks.
Col Romulo D Quemado PN(M)(GSC), Commander of the Coastal Defense Regiment (Provisional) and End-User of the system, lauded the team for the successful accomplishment of the training and expressed his optimism on the future of the CDR with the trained personnel. The acquisition was viewed as a boost to the Philippine Navy’s capability to defend the country’s maritime borders and will further complement the efforts of the PN surface assets in patrolling the Philippines, as per its Navy.
According to the deal, the Philippines will get three batteries of missile system having a range of 290 km with a speed of 2.8 Mach (thrice the speed of sound). The deal also encompasses training for operators and the necessary integrated logistics support package, said the sources. As reported earlier by the TNIE, India on January 11, 2022, successfully test-fired the extended-range sea-to-sea variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.
The extended-range version of BrahMos was developed after India’s full membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which removed caps on the range of the cruise missile. The plan has been to initially extend the range of attack to 450 km. The BrahMos missile can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. India has been in talks with Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand and a few other nations that have shown interest in the system.