The joint russian-Indian company BrahMos Aerospace has secured two new contracts with foreign countries to supply its anti-ship missiles worth a total of $455 million.
It has not been disclosed who purchased BrahMos. The conclusion of the agreements was officially announced by the country's Minister of Defense, Rajnath Singh.
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These are the first export contracts after the Philippines ordered these missiles. The agreement was reached in 2021, and the $374 million contract was signed on January 28, 2022, even before russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It should be noted that BrahMos (Oniks) is a supersonic anti-ship missile with the option of striking coastal targets. During flight with a declared range of up to 300 km in export variants, it reaches a speed of 2-2.8 Mach. The missile is highly versatile, with variants that can be launched from naval vessels, ground-based launchers, and aircraft.
According to DefenseIn, Indonesia has become one of BrahMos' buyers. Moreover, the contract includes the transfer of certain technologies and the localization of production at BTI Defense facilities, which are owned by PT Pindad.
From Defense Express we would like to note that information about a possible contract to supply BrahMos to Indonesia was announced back in April this year. Additionally, in April, it was reported that Vietnam had signed a contract to acquire BrahMos missiles.
In other words, these two countries are the most likely candidates. At the same time, Malaysia reportedly expressed interest in purchasing these anti-ship missiles in August this year, but in an air-launched variant for its Su-30MKM aircraft. Overall, BrahMos' export achievements in the region were largely expected.
This is despite the fact that BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture with a 49.5% stake held by russia, russian management, and the use of russian components in the missiles.
It should be noted that the new contracts are not only a direct source of income for the Kremlin. Such joint production is a possible mechanism for the russian federation to obtain sanctioned components from India, within the framework of a "joint project."
The key issue is that the U.S. CASTA law, the main tool for imposing economic sanctions on countries purchasing russian arms, will not be enforced.
Firstly, the U.S. does not apply it to India, despite the country continuing to purchase russian weapons, including the S-400 air defense systems. Secondly, all BrahMos buyers acquire these missiles to defend their coasts against China, which is beneficial to the U.S.
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