Russia Capitalizing on BrahMos' Proven Performance against Pakistan, Marketing Its P800 Oniks-Equipped Bastion-P System to Interested Nations

Following the confirmed successful use of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile by India in strikes against Pakistani airbases, international interest in the weapon system has increased significantly.

This has prompted Russia to actively promote its own P-800 Oniks-based coastal defence system, the Bastion-P, to a global market eager for proven supersonic missile technology.

Recent military engagements saw the Indian Air Force (IAF) utilise a small number of its BrahMos missiles to neutralise key Pakistani airbases, reportedly crippling operations in under 30 minutes.

The missile's ability to overcome and destroy sophisticated Chinese-made HQ-9 and HQ-16 air defence systems during these strikes has been a focal point of discussion in international defence circles.

This real-world demonstration of the missile's effectiveness has accelerated procurement discussions with several nations.

In response to this heightened demand, Russia’s state arms export agency, Rosoboronexport, is highlighting its K-300P Bastion-P mobile coastal defence system.

The system's core offensive capability comes from the P-800 Oniks, a supersonic anti-ship missile that is the original Russian platform upon which the BrahMos was jointly developed with India.

Moscow is strategically marketing the Bastion-P to nations that have shown interest in the BrahMos, leveraging the shared technological heritage of the two missiles.

The BrahMos is a product of a joint venture between India's DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya. The P-800 Oniks and its associated Bastion-P system, however, are entirely Russian-produced.

This allows Russia to independently tap into the growing market for supersonic strike weapons, especially in regions where India might have strategic limitations on its arms exports.

Nations in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam and Indonesia, are reportedly advancing their plans to acquire the BrahMos system.

Vietnam, which already operates the Russian Bastion-P, has been in long-standing talks with India for BrahMos, and the missile's recent combat success is believed to have added urgency to these negotiations.

Similarly, Indonesia has been engaged in advanced discussions for the missile to bolster its maritime security.

The Philippines became the first export customer for BrahMos, receiving its initial deliveries in 2024.

Defence analysts note that while both the BrahMos and the Bastion-P share a common origin in the P-800 Oniks, they are not identical.

The Indian BrahMos has been evolved into a versatile, multi-platform weapon that can be launched from land, air, and sea, and is deeply integrated with India's domestic command-and-control infrastructure.

The Bastion-P is primarily configured as a land-based mobile system for coastal defence, firing the P-800 Oniks which has a range of up to 300-600 km depending on the variant and flight profile.

The demonstrated success of the BrahMos has created a significant surge in the global appetite for advanced supersonic weapons. This has opened a strategic window for both New Delhi and Moscow to expand their influence and secure a larger share of the multi-billion dollar missile export market.

 

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[Shiva Shankar]

Does it mean, overall, Russia and Russian-assisted BrahMos in the form of India are becoming the first choice of preference, and only those countries that don't get access to these will choose alternatives from the US/China?

 

[Somnath Sinhababu]

India should also think about its coastal defence system. I am not aware which type of coastal defence systems we are using right now. India should prioritize it. Coastal defence is very much needed.

 

[Kiran Kumar]

What if China wants purchase P-800 Oniks form Russia and reverse engineer and sold them to Pakistan or other countries.

 

[DB_NE_Guy]

India need to take caution while supplyng cutting edge weapons to Ummah.

 

[DB_NE_Guy]

What if China wants purchase P-800 Oniks form Russia and reverse engineer and sold them to Pakistan or other countries.

Reverse engineering of new/modern Russian weapons like missiles and jets is simply no longer possible for China. Last week, there was a news article in this very same IDRW. It says Chinese are frustrated that their Su-35 and S-400 can't be reverse engineered because its critical tech has a kill switch. Russia may have been alarmed by Chinese disregard for Russian IP Rights and then cloning it to steal Russia's international market.

 

[Bhishma]

Reverse engineering of new/modern Russian weapons like missiles and jets is simply no longer possible for China. Last week, there was a news article in this very same IDRW. It says Chinese are frustrated that their Su-35 and S-400 can't be reverse engineered because its critical tech has a kill switch. Russia may have been alarmed by Chinese disregard for Russian IP Rights and then cloning it to steal Russia's international market.

This is the problem with reverse engineering. What the Chinese do is take a component, completely copy one to one. Then take the firmware and copy that too. The problem is when they do this kind of copy, the backdoors will also be copied. These backdoors can be activated anytime.

 

[Sandeep]

Despite offering this missile or Oniks it will still not be the same version as the Brahmos missile as it is more advanced than the earlier version of the Brahmos/Oniks. A lot of the critical technology and parts will now be Indian and much better than the previous versions so its performance and capabilities won’t be the same as the earlier variants.

 

[Buck]

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I'm happy that actual defence communities and countries worldwide have acknowledged the effectiveness of our systems. But I'm also unhappy that now that Pakistan and China have witnessed how effective our systems are, they will develop and buy better systems to counter us, and we will have less of an edge in a real war.

 

[ANIL KUMAR S]

Indian-produced BrahMos is far more superior than the Russian one, even though it has the base technology of Russia. Children are always more brilliant than their parents. In Operation Sindoor, BrahMos demonstrated its capabilities. Chinese systems are no match for our pure, reliable, indigenous technology. Our scientists have demonstrated that if given the opportunity, they'll give their best.