LANGKAWI: BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, is interested in offering its supersonic cruise missiles to more Southeast Asia countries including Malaysia.
BrahMos officials said the company, which produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms, is now keen to work with the Malaysian government after clinching an export deal with the Philippines.
“So now we are in the position of offering it, and we are very much interested in offering it to countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Any one of those who are interested can get in touch with us.
“And we are extremely excited to work with the Malaysian government. Senior officials who have visited us have also been very encouraging, and we are looking at ways and means by which we can give solutions to the Malaysian Navy, the Malaysian army, and the Malaysian people as well,” he said.
He told Bernama this when met at the BrahMos booth at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2023 (LIMA’23) here.
With the Philippines, the first contract valued at US$375 million for the export of BrahMos missiles was signed in January last year where three batteries of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles will be delivered to Manila over the course of the next three years.
“Many Asean countries have approached us… who want to use the same solution. The reason they want to use the same solution is because this is the fastest and most lethal missile in its category,” he said.
Elaborating, he said that the main strength of the 280-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is that the same missile can be used by all types of defences.
“So by design, the missile is predisposed towards joint operations. This means you need not buy separate missiles for the Army, Navy, and the same missiles with slight variations can be used by the Air Force. You have the same cluster of missiles,” he said.
He said that the missiles, which fly at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound, are very easy to maintain with health checks needed once in three years as the missiles come in a sealed container for their entire life. – BERNAMA
