There is no technical issue with the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, India has told Philippines after the archipelago, which has inked a nearly $375 million deal for the missiles, reportedly sought an explanation on the “accidental firing” of a missile into Pakistan last month.
A report in Indian Express said Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had called in Indian ambassador Shambhu S Kumaran who assured the senior minister that there was no technical issue with the missile system that is manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace in India.
Kumaran is also reported to have told Lorenzana that an enquiry into the incident is underway and probe details will be shared with relevant authorities.
While there has been speculation to this effect, there is no official confirmation that the missile accidentally fired was a BrahMos.
India had described the March 9 accidental firing as “regrettable”. Making a statement in Parliament on the inadvertent release of the missile during an inspection, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said a formal high-level inquiry had been ordered to determine the exact cause of the incident.
In the first-ever export order for BrahMos missiles, Philippines had signed $374 million contract with the BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd (BAPL) in January this year to supply an undisclosed number of missiles.
The BAPL, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms.
India has already deployed a sizable number of the BrahMos missiles and other key assets in several strategic locations along the Line of Actual Control with China in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
Russia-Ukraine War Impact on Philippines Deal?
Addressing a webinar on ‘The Philippines: India’s new Indo-Pacific partner’, Indian ambassador Kumaran has said that the sale of BrahMos to Philippines will move ahead on a “bilateral basis”, ruling out any impact of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, a co-developer of the missile system.
He added that Philippines was given a clarification on the accidental missile firing into Pakistan.
“I did have an opportunity to speak to Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana… There was a query and we responded with the fact there was no technical issue as far as we could understand it. There is an inquiry underway, we will have that cleared once the information is available,” The Hindu quoted Kumaran as saying.
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