In a positive development for India, major Gulf countries such as Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia have shown interest in purchasing the Indo-Russian Brahmos supersonic cruise missile.
A Middle Eastern nation may soon strike a deal with the Indian government to procure India’s first homegrown supersonic cruise missile, the BrahMos.
These countries started talks after seeing South Asian nations queuing up to buy this missile. In addition, these countries have turned to India for missile procurement, shifting the geopolitical balance – the US refusing to sell weapons and ammunition to various countries in the region, while Russia’s more permanent The war with Ukraine turned the country into a national alignment.
Financial Express Online has reported earlier about the discussions UAE was having regarding the BrahMos which are already in advanced stages. In fact this country was the first in the region to express interest in buying the BrahMos missile and has expressed interest in the indigenous Akaash missile.
The discussions with Saudi Arabia too are in advanced stages. “The discussions had got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, now the talks are back on track. It is expected that the deal could be sealed soon,” a source said.
In fact when the former chief of Indian Army Gen MM Naravane had visited these countries, the export of BrahMos and other military platforms was on the agenda during his meetings with the top military leadership in these countries.
The BrahMos Missiles is developed by BrahMos Aerospace Private Ltd– a joint venture between India and Russia. “These two countries are likely to ink the deal by the last quarter of this financial year,” said sources, adding that more middle-east countries have expressed their interest in this indigenous missile.
Financial Express Online had reported earlier that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE had expressed interest in the BrahMos-NG air variant. This variant is expected to have a 300 kms range and is in various stages of development.
India has already started delivering BrahMos missiles to the ASEAN member Philippines. It has contracted for land-to-ship versions of supersonic cruise missiles. It is also the first country in which India has exported the BrahMos rocket manufactured by an Indian-Russian joint venture.
Negotiations with Indonesia on the supersonic Brahmos cruise missile are already well advanced. The country is very keen to purchase these missiles, and at the recent Indo-Defense exhibition in Jakarta, the country’s defense minister held a lengthy meeting with his CMD at BrahMos Aerospace. Indonesia already operates Russian platforms such as Su-27 fighters and Kilo-class submarines. Therefore, carrying BrahMos missiles is not a problem.
Other countries
There are other countries besides Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam which have expressed interest in this missile. Countries like Egypt too have expressed interest in this Indo-Russian missile which is being produced in India. South Africa, Brazil, among others too is interested in the BrahMos-NG version of the missile. These missiles are expected to be made at facilities located in the UP Defence Corridor.