India-Philippines deal on BrahMos to be finalised next year

New Delhi, Dec 09: Philippines is all set to buy the BrahMos cruise missile which is jointly developed by both India and Russia.

The deal between India and Manila would be finalised by 2020 as the price negotiations are underway.

Sources tell OneIndia that Philippines has already conducted extensive trials following which it decided to zero in on the deal. The Philippines army has already given the go-ahead, the source added. Now the price negotiations are on and the deal is almost at a final stage.

Manila is looking to acquire BrahMos with its own funds, although India had offered a 100 million USD line of credit.

It may be recalled that a mock-up of the land-based version of the missile was displayed on December 5 at an expo at Manila.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Philippines in 2017, an MoU was signed relating to the defence industry and logistics cooperation.

Apart from the Philippines, India is also looking to sell the BrahMos to Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.