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Defence Secretary’s remarks indicate major missile export deal already signed.
Rajesh Kumar Singh on Saturday publicly indicated that India has signed a deal to supply BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to Vietnam, marking the first public acknowledgement by a senior Indian official that the agreement may already be concluded.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Singh responded to a question from a Vietnamese delegate and said:
“My understanding is that with both Indonesia and with Vietnam, the deal is in the final stages and in fact, for Vietnam, I understand that it has already been signed. Probably not publicly announced, but it’s already been signed.”
If confirmed formally by both sides, Vietnam would become the second Southeast Asian nation after the Philippines to acquire the Indo-Russian BrahMos missile system. The Philippines signed a $375 million deal in 2022 and has since received deliveries.
The Vietnam agreement is estimated to be valued between $300 million and $700 million, or roughly Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 5,800 crore, and is expected to cover a complete shorebased coastal defence package rather than only missiles. The package is likely to include mobile launchers, tracking radars, command-and-control systems, reload vehicles, training and logistics support.
Based on previous export contracts, a single BrahMos coastal defence battery package is estimated to cost around $125 million on average, although actual pricing depends on missile numbers, infrastructure requirements and overall configuration. Open-source assessments suggest a battery configuration typically includes multiple mobile launchers, ready-to-fire missiles, command vehicles and associated support elements.
The acquisition is expected to significantly strengthen Vietnam’s maritime deterrence posture amid continuing tensions in the South China Sea.
The export case for BrahMos has also been strengthened by its operational use during Operation Sindoor last year, where the missile system was employed in precision strikes against Pakistani military infrastructure as part of India’s broader stand-off strike package. Post-conflict assessments indicate that Indian forces were able to penetrate, suppress Pakistan’s layered air defence network, much of which relies on Chinese-origin systems, enabling successful strikes on multiple targets. While detailed operational data remains limited in the public domain, the operation has increasingly been cited by defence analysts as evidence of BrahMos transitioning from a deterrence asset to a combatproven export platform.
Singh’s remarks also suggested that negotiations with Indonesia are nearing completion, indicating that BrahMos exports could expand further across the Indo-Pacific region.
It is understood that atleast two more countries are seeking Brahmos.
The development comes amid growing defence cooperation between India and Vietnam under their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which spans maritime security, submarine rescue cooperation, defence industrial collaboration and maritime domain awareness initiatives. The deal also represents another step in New Delhi’s effort to expand defence exports, with BrahMos increasingly positioned as India’s flagship military export platform because of its speed, range and precision strike capability.
Neither Ministry of National Defence of Vietnam nor BrahMos Aerospace has issued a detailed statement on timelines, missile configurations or delivery schedules so far.
Further details on contract structure, delivery timelines and overall package value are expected in the coming weeks.
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