NDA (I) 2022 General Ability Test · Question 142 of 150

Correct — B, Philippines. In January 2022 India signed its first-ever export contract for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with the Philippines, a roughly US$375 million deal for a shore-based anti-ship missile system for the Philippine Marine Corps. This made the Philippines the maiden foreign buyer of BrahMos and marked a milestone in India's defence exports.

• (a)Bhutan — Bhutan was not the buyer; India's first BrahMos export contract went to the Philippines, not a Himalayan neighbour.
• (c)Maldives — The Maldives has close defence ties with India but did not sign the first BrahMos export deal.
• (d)Nepal — Nepal was not the customer; the landmark first BrahMos export was to the Philippines.

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed jointly by India's DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, with the name blending the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. It can be launched from land, ships, submarines and aircraft. The Philippines deal was significant as India's first export of the flagship system, boosting its ambition to be a defence exporter.

This is a current-affairs item anchored to early 2022. The reliable memory hook is that the first foreign customer for BrahMos was a Southeast Asian maritime nation seeking coastal defence — the Philippines — not one of India's immediate land neighbours listed in the other options.

• The BrahMos export contract with the Philippines was signed in January 2022, worth about US$375 million.
• It was India's first-ever export order for the BrahMos missile.
• BrahMos is a joint India-Russia supersonic cruise missile; the name combines the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers.
• The deal is for a shore-based anti-ship system for the Philippine Marine Corps.

• Guessing an immediate land neighbour (Nepal, Bhutan) instead of the actual maritime buyer.
• Confusing BrahMos (cruise missile) with the Agni series (ballistic missiles).

As a defence current-affairs 'first export / first buyer' item.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The name of the BrahMos missile is derived from the names of which two rivers?

  • (a)Brahmaputra and Moskva
  • (b)Brahmaputra and Mahanadi
  • (c)Beas and Moskva
  • (d)Brahmani and Volga

  Answer(a) Brahmaputra and Moskva — reflecting its India-Russia joint development.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  BrahMos is best classified as which type of missile?

  • (a)Supersonic cruise missile
  • (b)Intercontinental ballistic missile
  • (c)Surface-to-air missile
  • (d)Anti-tank guided missile

  Answer(a) Supersonic cruise missile — it flies at low altitude at more than twice the speed of sound.