The Vietnamese authorities are ready to conclude a contract with India for the purchase of BrahMos supersonic missiles of Russian-Indian production. The deal is estimated at $700 million. This is reported by Defence blog.
Negotiations are in the final stages. The contract is expected to be signed in the coming months.
As the author of the blog notes, the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense has approved the technical issues of the deal. BrahMos missiles will enter service with the Vietnamese army and navy. Consequently, Vietnam will be the second country after the Philippines to possess powerful Russian-Indian missiles.
About BrahMos missiles
The missiles are produced by BrahMos Aerospace in Hyderabad (a joint venture between the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization — DRDO and NPO Mashinostroeniya). It was created on the basis of the Russian P-800 Onyx missile.
BrahMos can be launched from land, sea and air platforms.
It is believed that India and Vietnam have common strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region. In recent years, the countries have been actively expanding defense cooperation.
Characteristics of the BrahMos missile:
- Speed — 2.5-2.8 Mach
- Range — 300 km
- Flight altitude — up to 15,000 m
- Inertial control system with radar seeker
- Launch weight: 2500 kg (air-based), 3000 kg (ship-based)
- Warhead — penetrating
- Warhead weight — up to 450 kg
- Service life — up to 10 years
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