At a time of tension in the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines, not only the United States and Japan are instigating the Philippines behind their backs, but India also seems to want to intervene. According to Indian media reports, on Thursday night, a C-17 "Globemaster" and an Il-76 transport plane of the Indian Air Force landed at an airport in the Philippines, and the plane was carrying the "BrahMos" supersonic anti-ship missile that the Philippines had previously purchased from India. Two years ago, under the continuous promotion of the Modi authorities, "BrahMos" finally won the first order in the overseas market. The Philippines purchased three shore-based BrahMos from India at a high price of $368 million. After getting the order, India originally wanted to deliver it to the Philippines slowly, but last year, the situation in the South China Sea heated up, and the Philippines was very urgent.
So India accelerated the delivery plan, and at this sensitive point in time, let the Philippines get the "BrahMos". For Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, "BrahMos" is one of the things he wants most, and he relies on this weapon to improve the Philippine military's anti-ship combat capabilities, and then call out China in the South China Sea. In fact, the original intention of the Philippines to buy the BrahMos was to target Chinese warships performing missions in the South China Sea. According to the Modi authorities, the "BrahMos" is one of the world's most powerful anti-ship missiles, and as long as there is a "BrahMos", the Philippine army's anti-ship combat capability will be able to rise to a higher level in an instant, and it will be no problem to deal with Chinese warships. If you only look at the parameters on paper, "BrahMos" is really strong enough.
It is reported that the range of the "BrahMos" exported by India to the Philippines has shrunk to about 290 kilometers, and the penetration speed at the end can reach up to Mach 3.5, which is already approaching the threshold of hypersonic anti-ship missiles. Theoretically, this missile does have first-class anti-ship capabilities. But let's not forget, this missile is made in India, and everyone must know what the quality of the missile produced in India is. Previously, India test-fired a domestically produced missile, and as soon as it was launched, it actually hit Pakistan next door, but fortunately it did not cause too many casualties, otherwise it would have detonated a war. From this point of view, it is difficult to guarantee the strike accuracy of India's home-made missiles.
In addition, the failure rate of Indian-made weapons and equipment is very high, and perhaps, the "BrahMos" will be sent out, flying and flying, and before it can hit the target, it will fall halfway. Moreover, the design scheme of this anti-ship missile was determined around 2000, more than 20 years ago, and with the rapid development of modern military technology, no one knows what the real combat effectiveness of the "BrahMos" is. Trying to use a shore-based anti-ship missile against China's high-speed warships moving at sea is probably a "pipe dream" for the Philippine military. It is estimated that in the process of marketing, India promised the Philippines some benefits, otherwise the Philippines would not have chosen the Indian-made "BrahMos" as the main combat equipment of its own navy.
If India really promised benefits to the Philippines, what should it be? The author speculates that perhaps India has promised to support the Philippines and stand by the Philippines in the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines. India originally wanted to extend its hand to the South China Sea, learn from the United States, and use the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines to contain China, so as to share the oppressive force faced by its own army from the People's Liberation Army in the border area between China and India. However, as far as China is concerned, not to mention that India has sent supersonic anti-ship missiles to the Philippines, that is, hypersonic anti-ship missiles, China is not afraid, it is a matter of sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and China will not back down at all.