India Eyes Over $200 Million Akash Missile Export Deal to Philippines
15 Februari 2025
Akash is a short to medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by the DRDO, India with operational range 25-30 km (photo: DRDO)
India expects to sell short-range missiles to the Philippines this year in a deal worth more than $200 million, according to the Reuters news agency, quoting unidentified Indian sources.
It would be New Delhi’s second major defense export contract with Manila as tension grows with China.
The Akash missile system developed by India’s defense research body has drawn interest from the Philippines, which has told New Delhi it would make an order in the fiscal year that begins in April, three sources said.
All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is a sensitive one.
The surface-to-air missile system with a range of up to 25 kilometers was exported to Armenia last year in a $230-million deal, the sources said, adding that the Philippine sale is expected to be bigger than the Armenian deal.
However, they did not reveal the number of missiles and accompanying systems, including radars, involved.
India’s Bharat Dynamics Ltd., the manufacturer of the missiles, was one of the exhibitors at last year’s Asian Defense and Security Exhibition in Manila.
The company and India’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A Philippine defense spokesperson, Arsenio Andolong, declined to comment on the specifics of any deal or on procurement plans but said the country’s Armed Forces had “manifested it requires these capabilities.”
The expected deal would follow India’s $375-million sale of the midrange BrahMos supersonic cruise missile to the Philippines.
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