According to information published on April 20, 2025, by the Indian newspaper “The New Indian Express”, India has successfully shipped the second battery of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system to the Philippines. This milestone reinforces India’s emergence as a credible defense exporter and marks a significant deepening of strategic and defense ties between New Delhi and Manila. Unlike the first battery—which was delivered via Indian Air Force aircraft in April 2024—the second unit was transported by sea, demonstrating not only logistical efficiency but also India’s ability to scale up its defense export operations in response to increasing global demand.
The BrahMos missile system, jointly developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia, represents one of India’s most successful defense programs to date. Conceived in the late 1990s and operationalized in the early 2000s, the BrahMos is a result of long-term strategic cooperation between India and Russia, with India holding a majority stake in BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited. The missile derives its name from two rivers: the Brahmaputra in India and the Moskva in Russia—a symbolic nod to the Indo-Russian partnership.