Adm Radhakrishnan Harikumar (C) and other officials along with the Philippine marines who completed the BrahMos training. (Photo: Philippine Marines Corps/Facebook)
New Delhi: Twenty-one marines from the Philippines completed their operator training of the shore-based anti-ship version of the BrahMos missile system, which India and Russia have jointly developed. The training was conducted between January 23 to February 11 in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
The training focused on the operations and maintenance of some of the most important logistics packages of the SBASMS (shore-based anti-ship missile system that will be delivered to the Philippines. It may be noted that in January 2022, India’s BrahMos Aerospace and the Philippines signed a deal worth around $375 million for the Philippine Marines Corps to acquire three batteries of the BrahMos cruise missile.
Indian Navy chief Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar awarded the marines their interim missile badges in a valedictory ceremony.
Addressing the Philippines’ marines, who completed the course, Adm Kumar said, “The induction of the BrahMos missile into the Philippine Marine Corps will strengthen your maritime capability and will also contribute to our collective maritime security within the region ... I sincerely hope that you’ll always cherish the bonds of friendship you had during your stay here.”
He congratulated the officers, enlisted personnel and civilian human resource (CivHR) who finished the practical series of the training successfully, and further added that “as pioneers of the system, each has proven his/her capacity as a fine ambassador of their country.”
Colonel Romulo D Quemado PN(M)(GSC), commander of the Philippines’ Coastal Defense Regiment (Provisional) and end-user of the system, lauded the team for the successful accomplishment of the training and expressed his optimism on the future of the CDR with the trained personnel. He further emphasized the value of retaining the knowledge that they gained during the training to honour the investment made by the people of the Philippines.
The Philippines’ acquisition of the shore-based anti-ship BrahMos missile system is viewed as a boost to the Philippine navy’s capability to defend the country’s maritime borders and complement the efforts of the force’s surface assets in patrolling the Philippine waters.
