NEW DELHI, February 8. /TASS/. Many foreign states express their interest in purchasing various versions of the BrahMos cruise missile, says BrahMos Aerospace CEO and Managing Director Atul Dinkar Rane.

"The Philippines is the first order that we got," Rane said, adding that five countries have shown interest in buying the missiles. "So far, I can say that they are from South East Asia, the Middle East and Latin America."

According to Rane, potential buyers are interested in various versions of the cruise missile: ground-based, air-based and ship-based versions. For example, the Philippines are interested in a coastal anti-ship version in particular, he said.

Rane noted that BrahMos Aerospace plans to start shipping missiles to the Philippines in the middle or the second half of this year.

"The contract was signed in February last year. Deliveries will start between the middle and end of this year. […] The deliveries will end in 2025 - in the next two years," the CEO said.

The BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile, produced by the Russian-Indian enterprise BrahMos Aerospace. It was developed by Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). Its first test launch took place in 2001. Various versions of the missile have been commissioned to India’s air force, navy and ground forces. The BrahMos Aerospace headquarters is located in New Delhi. The name is derived by combining the names of two rivers - the Brahmaputra in India and the Moskva in Russia.