ASEAN nations seek to purchase BrahMos, Akash missiles from India

India's Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles mounted on a truck are shown in New Delhi

ASEAN nations are seeking to purchase major defence and weapons systems from India, including the Akash and BrahMos missiles, according to a report by The Financial Express.

According to the report, export of Akash and BrahMos will be topping the agenda when the 10 ASEAN leaders meet during the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi on the eve of India's Republic Day.

India has been increasing its engagement with the regional bloc as per its 'Act East Policy'. India has been making engagements in the fields of maritime security, military exercises, trade and investments.

In August 2017, India clarified that it was not supplying BrahMos anti-ship cruise missiles to Vietnam even as the South Asian country had said that the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations had been growing in many fields including security and defence.

Prior to that, various reports had suggested that India was considering supplying the missiles to the southeast Asian nation.

Akash, a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile has been developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). The missile system can target aircrafts flying 30 kilometres away at altitudes of up to 18,000 metres.

The BrahMos is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile and is capable of being launched from submarines, ships, aircrafts and from land-based equipments.