The recent acquisition of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles by the Philippines from India, while a significant step in their defense partnership, may not provide the operational advantage Manila seeks without substantial improvements to its supporting military infrastructure, a former U.S. official has warned.
Ashley Tellis, formerly with the U.S. Department of State and currently a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, highlighted these concerns in a recent article published on The Print.
While acknowledging the $375 million deal as a "significant boost" to Philippine security, Tellis emphasized that the Philippines currently lacks the necessary Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities to effectively deploy the missiles.
C4ISR systems are the backbone of modern warfare, integrating various technologies like sensors, satellites, radar, and communication networks. They provide a comprehensive understanding of the battlefield, allowing commanders to identify, track, and engage targets accurately, especially crucial for long-range weapons like the BrahMos. These systems create a unified picture, allowing for precise strikes.
Tellis pointed out that the Philippines' current C4ISR framework is insufficient for tasks such as target acquisition, maintaining real-time situational awareness, and coordinating missile strikes across the vast maritime distances relevant to potential conflicts, such as those in the disputed South China Sea. Essentially, without the ability to "see" and "understand" the battlefield in real-time, the BrahMos missiles' effectiveness is severely limited.
The Philippines' defense modernization efforts have historically faced budgetary constraints. In 2024, the country's defense budget stood at approximately $4.3 billion, significantly less than regional powers like China, whose defense budget is estimated to be around $296 billion.
While the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) operate some U.S.-supplied systems, including AN/TPS-77 radars, and benefit from intelligence sharing under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States, these are reportedly not yet optimized for a missile-centric defense strategy.
The BrahMos, capable of striking both land and sea targets at high speeds, requires a constant stream of real-time targeting data. This is a capability the AFP's developing C4ISR network currently struggles to provide without significant upgrades. The effective range of the BrahMos missile can extend to 290 km, requiring updated coordinates for moving targets, a capability that is challenging for the Philippines.
The acquisition is widely seen as a geopolitical statement, strengthening ties between the Philippines and India and signaling resolve in the face of tensions with Beijing over the West Philippine Sea. However, Tellis cautions that symbolic gestures are insufficient in a real conflict scenario.
The challenge lies in acquiring capabilities like indigenous satellite coverage or advanced airborne early warning systems. Without these, the BrahMos batteries may be limited to a more passive, coastal defense role, rather than the more dynamic anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) role they are capable of. A2/AD strategies aim to prevent an adversary from occupying or traversing a specific area of land, sea, or air.
India, the manufacturer of the BrahMos, maintains confidence in the missile's proven capabilities. An anonymous official from India's DRDO, speaking to The Print, emphasized the missile's accuracy, demonstrated in Indian Navy tests. The official suggested that the Philippines could learn from India's experience, potentially adopting similar systems to India's indigenous satellite navigation (IRNSS) and radar networks that support their own BrahMos deployments.
