India signs ₹6,000 crore BrahMos missile deal with Vietnam:How the ₹1.74 lakh crore defence sector powers GDP and jobs

India has signed a deal with ​Vietnam under which it will ‌supply BrahMos missiles (jointly developed with Russia) and ​the deal could be worth ₹6,000 crore, said news agency, ‘Reuters’. Speaking at Asia’s ‌premier ⁠defence forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue, India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh ​Kumar Singh said on Saturday, 30 May, 2026, that India was in ‘final stages’ for ​a similar deal with Indonesia. The country had earlier sold the supersonic cruise missiles ​to the Philippines, added the news agency. Philippines was first foreign buyer of BrahMos Earlier, the Philippines became the first country to import the BrahMos missile system from India. On April 19, 2024, India delivered the first consignment of BrahMos missiles to the Philippines. The deal, signed in January 2022, was valued at $375 million (around ₹3,130 crore). The missiles were transported by the Indian Air Force using a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and handed over to the Philippine Marine Corps. The delivery came amid rising tensions between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea. Each BrahMos system included two missile launchers, a radar system, and a command-and-control centre, allowing rapid firing of missiles from land-based positions. India had also agreed to train Philippine forces in operating the system. How big is India’s defence sector? Market Size: The Indian defence market is worth around ₹1.74 lakh crore as of 2025. GDP Contribution: India currently spends between 1.9% and 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence. Government Budget: In the latest 2026-27 budget, the Indian government had made a record-high allocation of ₹7.85 lakh crore to the Ministry of Defence. Out of this, the government set aside ₹1.39 lakh crore just to buy weapons from local Indian companies to support the flagship ‘Make in India’ plan. Employment: The defence industry employs around 0.29 crore people including soldiers, reserve forces, and civilian workers. Which companies manufacture the BrahMos missiles in India? The BrahMos missile has been developed through a joint collaboration between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia. It is a medium-range stealth ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from land, sea, air, or submarine platforms. The missile is capable of travelling at speeds of around Mach 2.8, nearly three times the speed of sound, and can strike targets at a range of approximately 290 kilometres. BrahMos is based on Russia’s P-800 Oniks cruise missile technology and has been inducted into all three branches of the Indian armed forces, the Army, Navy and Air Force. Origin of the name BrahMos According to defence officials, the missile’s name combines the names of two rivers, India’s Brahmaputra and Russia’s Moskva River. Some accounts also associate the name with Brahmastra, the powerful mythical weapon of Lord Brahma. Multiple launch capabilities Several versions of the BrahMos missile have been developed, including land-launched, ship-launched, submarine-launched and air-launched variants. The missile can also be fired from submarines at depths of 40–50 metres underwater. The first successful underwater launch test of BrahMos took place in 2013. Performance of defence stocks: People who invested money in Indian defence companies have made massive profits in the past. Because the government aims to give huge orders to indigenous companies, defence stocks have shot up substantially over the last five years.