India approves procurement of next generation maritime mobile coastal batteries

Indian Army BrahMos land based missiles during an India Day parade. Photo c/o The Hindu.

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) disclosed on 8 August 2019 that they have approved the planned acquisition of two (2) batteries of the Next Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (NGMMCB) worth INR13.5 billion (US190 million)  for the Indian Navy (IN).

The NGMMCB would be based on the indigenous BrahMos land-based supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, and will be paired with Terma’s Scanter naval surveillance radar license built in India by Tata Nova. The Scanter radar can provide maritime surface surveillance range of up to 170 kilometers.

Each BrahMos NGMMCB will comprise of a single command post, two radar units, two firing units each with 3 anti-ship missiles. Each battery will also be equipped with a reconnaissance vehicle, and two vehicles with Man Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) for short-range air defense.

According to INS Jane’s, the missile batteries will deployed at INS Trata naval base in Mumbai, which is tasked to defend the coastal areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The Indian military already operates the Block I ship and truck -launched anti-ship variants, the BrahMos-A air-launched anti-ship variant, as well as a land-based surface strike variant. BrahMos Aerospace Ltd, with assistance from the Indian government has been marketing their BrahMos anti-ship missile to several countries from Southeast Asia, Middle East, and South America, but has not yet receive a confirmed export order.



[1] India Today
[2] Jane’s Defence Weekly
[3] The Diplomat