Who's buying BrahMos from India and why? Defence Secretary says exports to cross $600 million

Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh hailed BrahMos as a benchmark for India's emerging export story, with exports expected to cross $600 million. In an interview with ANI on Thursday, Singh said the system has been proven in battle during Operation Sindoor missile, and also has an air-launched version.

"The system has been proven in battle during Operation Sindoor...This missile also has an air-launched version, which exists and is a great success on Sukhois," Rajesh Kumar Singh said.

He said this is one of the high-end strategic systems that we've been able to export. "There is tremendous potential for this particular system, and I hope that this will continue to be one of the anchors of our export momentum...," he added.

"We've got contracts or agreements to sell it to three Southeast Asian countries, starting with the Philippines, and now Indonesia and Vietnam as well," he told ANI.

The BrahMos missile system, to the tune of about $330 million, has been delivered to the Philippines. The Defence Secretary said that exports should be about $100 million to start with for Vietnam, and for Indonesia, it should be around $200 million.

Philippines became the first to buy BrahMos from India in 2022, followed by a deal with Vietnam in May this year. Later, in July, a Reuters report cited sources as saying that India will supply its BrahMos and Astra missiles to Indonesia, the country's third such agreement in the Indo-Pacific.

According to Reuters, India has received interest from more than half a dozen other countries, including the United Arab Emirates.

"The most well-known product is the BrahMos, which is fairly coveted and which we are selling to or in the process of selling to, several Southeast Asian countries. There are [exports] also increasingly in areas like artillery and mounted gun systems," he said.

"We have DRDO technology-based private sector products which have been exported to certain countries, and there is more demand coming. Possibly also Akash surface-to-air missiles where there is a lot of interest," Singh said, answering a query by ANI.

Meanwhile, Siemon Wezeman, senior researcher in the Arms Transfers Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, told CNBC, that BrahMos is "one of the largest and fastest available on the market just now."

The only other missile similar to BrahMos is China's YJ-12, Douglas Barrie, a senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told CNBC in an email.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier described BrahMos as not just a missile, but a symbol of the growing indigenous capabilities of the nation.

The missile features a traditional warhead and an advanced guided system and possesses the capability to strike long distances at supersonic speeds. This combination of speed, accuracy, and power makes BrahMos one of the best systems in the world.

These deals with Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam come amid growing concerns over China's actions in the Indo-Pacific region.

BrahMos has garnered strong interest from buyers in the Indo-Pacific region as these countries with limited naval forces need to defend disputed territories in the South China Sea, experts told CNBC in July this year.

"BrahMos and the air-to-air missiles are the areas that are new in our collaboration [with Indonesia]," an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson was quoted by CNBC saying earlier this year.

While Indonesia does not see China as a primary security threat, it does have differences with Beijing over the "North Natuna Sea claim," Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, told CNBC.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that interest in the BrahMos ⁠missile has grown since India's four-day conflict with Pakistan in May 2025, when New Delhi used the weapon system in combat for the first time.

Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and the private sector have contributed 54.84 percent and 45.16 percent respectively.

DPSUs' exports surged by 151 percent compared to the previous year, with private firms showcasing their robust presence by recording an increase of 14 percent, ANI reported.

In terms of value of contribution, the private sector accounted for ₹17,353 crore worth of defence exports, while DPSUs contributed ₹21,071 crore. Their respective figures in the previous financial year stood at ₹15,233 crore and ₹8,389 crore.

This sharp rise highlights the increasing global acceptance of Indian made defence products and the sector's growing integration into the international supply chains.