PH eyes own missile system

by PAOLO ROMERO Philstar.com

THE Philippines will inch closer to achieving its deterrence objectives as it is poised to have its own missile system that will give the country's "anemic" defense capability a much-needed upgrade.

The Philippine Navy (PN) should be receiving this year the first of three batteries of the BrahMos shore-based anti-ship missile system (Sbasms), which will be the primary weapon of the Coastal Defense Regiment (CDR), a newly formed unit of the Philippine Marine Corps.

The regiment is part of the Navy's Defense Capability Program and Active Archipelagic Defense Strategy, which aims to improve and increase sea control capabilities based on anti-access and area denial operations, while maintaining overall territorial integrity, asserting the country's sovereignty in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and extended continental shelf, and protecting Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs).

It is composed of the Sbasms Battalion and the Shore-Based Air Defense System (Sbads) Battalion, which were both activated in June 2022.

The regiment is expected to be fully functional in 2026.

The acquisition of the BrahMos is part of a $375-million deal inked by India's BrahMos Aerospace and the Philippine government in January 2022.

The deal was supposed to be signed a year earlier during the proposed state visit of thenpresident Rodrigo Duterte that would have made the Philippines the first country to buy the BrahMos missile even though it has been in service with the Indian armed forces since the 2000s. The plan, however, did not materialize because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Training completed

Aside from the three batteries, the multimillion dollar contract between India and the Philippines also covers launcher vehicles, command and control, and training and support.

The operator training is a critical package included in the BrahMos deal.

Just recently, 21 Philippine Navy personnel belonging to the CDR's Sbasms Battalion completed their training in India that focused on operations and maintenance of some of the most important logistics of the BrahMos.

The BrahMos is considered as the world's fastest anti-ship supersonic cruise missile, capable of flying at nearly three times the speed of sound and can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land.

This missile system was acquired by the Philippines in order to increase the capabilities of the CDR in defending coastlines, deter enemy littoral ships and amphibious forces, and support overall naval operations and littoral capabilities. Its introduction into the Philippines, according to Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative Director Gregory Poling, is the "most strategic purchase the Armed Forces of the Philippines has made in years." Defense experts said the BrahMos cruise missile system will provide counter-attack capabilities within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

The missile batteries are likely to be deployed in Luzon and Palawan, both facing the South China Sea.

All the land features in the West Philippine Sea that the Philippines considers an integral part of its territory but are being claimed in whole by China are less than 220 kilometers away from its shoreline, including Mischief Reef where China has constructed military installations.

The BrahMos missile system acquired by Manila can be used to target mobile targets within 300 kilometers of the coast.

"Operation of the BrahMos missile batteries will give the PN a true intermediate range external defense capability," Prof. Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, told The Manila Times.

"It will be a major boost to defending the archipelago and maintaining stability in the West Philippine Sea," he said. 