Philippines interested Indian-Made Pralay Tactical Ballistic Missiles

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics

The Philippines is reportedly currently evaluating the acquisition of India's new-generation tactical ballistic missile, the Pralay, in a move that could potentially dramatically change Manila's deterrence posture against an increasingly aggressive China in the South China Sea.

If finalized, the acquisition would be the Philippines' second missile contract from New Delhi after the purchase of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system in 2022 worth US$375 million (RM1.75 billion), marking India's official entry into the Southeast Asian missile market.

The recent interest in the Pralay tactical ballistic missile demonstrates Manila's determination to accelerate the transformation of its military from a focus on counter-insurgency operations to a conventional force capable of fending off pressure from regional superpowers.

This potential acquisition comes as China continues to increase its military capabilities on disputed islands in the South China Sea, including the deployment of HQ-9B long-range missile batteries, YJ-62 and YJ-12 anti-ship missiles, and the expansion of runways capable of supporting the operations of J-16 fighter jets and H-6K strategic bombers.

For Manila, the ability to operate land-attack tactical ballistic missiles like the Pralay would add another layer of deterrence against Beijing's air and missile capabilities, allowing the Philippines to threaten China's key military infrastructure in the Spratly and Paracel Islands.

Unlike BrahMos which focuses on "sea-denial" capabilities by targeting warships, Pralay will give the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) the ability to strike targets on land such as radar networks, command centers, logistics hubs and forward air bases that are critical to China's operations in the region.

Regional analysts point out that this move reflects Manila's desire to build a layered attack ecosystem, combining BrahMos for coastal defense with Pralay for land interdiction operations, thus creating an asymmetric deterrent capable of challenging Beijing's military maneuvers.