Not long after the manufacture of the first batch of BrahMos supersonic missile systems at the new integration and test facility in Lucknow was completed, India's Defence Minister confirmed that Indonesia has made a bid to purchase the projectiles. It will be missiles made at the Uttar Pradesh facility that will be reaching the Southeast Asian archipelago if the deal goes through, Rajnath Singh said.
"Indonesia has requested to purchase the BrahMos missile being manufactured in Lucknow," Singh said, addressing the BJP workers in Lucknow.
Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath flagged off the first batch of BrahMos missiles manufactured at the BrahMos Aerospace unit on October 18. The state-of-the-art unit, inaugurated on May 11, is fully operational now. The Rs 300-crore unit, located in the state capital's Bhatgaon in Sarojini Nagar, is one of the most ambitious projects of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor.
The assembly, integration, and testing of missiles here are carried out according to high-tech standards, according to an official release. The Uttar Pradesh government provided 80 hectares of land for the factory free of charge.
The Defence Minister made the announcement not long after the Philippines revealed the BrahMos batteries that it had bought from India. Three batteries of the Indian supersonic anti-ship missiles were procured in 2022.
The Philippine Marine Corps will be deploying the first battery, which was included in the video released as part of the jubilee celebrations, in Western Luzon. The Marines’ Coastal Defence Regiment’s Shore-based Anti-Ship Missile Battalion will be entrusted with the BrahMos battery, reports said.
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In January, reports had hinted that Jakarta's Defence Ministry had officially written to the Indian embassy in Jakarta, with the details of a $450 million BrahMos deal. The two countries have been discussing the procurement deal for a few years even as Indonesia has been facing budgetary constraints for going ahead with the deal.
A few other countries, including Argentina, have also shown interest in procuring BrahMos missiles from India.
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The BrahMos missile, developed jointly by India and Russia, originally had an operational range of 290 km, which was later extended to 450 km. These missiles are deployable from land-based mobile launchers, naval ships, submarines, and fighter jets such as the Su-30MKI of the Indian Air Force. BrahMos has been successfully employed in combat, notably during Operation Sindoor.