Will the 682nd Brigade be the first unit to receive BrahMos missiles?

Recently, many domestic and international news agencies have reported on India's sale of BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles to Vietnam.

Following this information, there have been many predictions about whether the Indian version of BrahMos might be sold in Vietnam.

BrahMos is a versatile missile deployed from various launch platforms; however, Vietnam currently lacks surface ships, aircraft, or submarines designed to integrate this weapon. Therefore, it is highly likely that BrahMos will be used for coastal defense missile systems.

Vietnam's modern coastal missile systems are present at the flag-raising ceremony for the Kilo 636 submarine. Photo by Quang Hieu - Government Electronic Newspaper.

Currently, the Vietnamese Navy has four coastal missile brigades. Brigade 679 is equipped with the 4K44 Redut system, Brigade 680 uses the 4K51 Rubezh, Brigade 681 is equipped with the most modern K-300P Bastion-P system, while Coastal Artillery and Missile Brigade 685 manages the EXTRA and AccuLAR systems manufactured by Israel.

If the BrahMos is deployed to a coastal missile system, based on the organization mentioned above, it would belong to a newly formed brigade.

Groundbreaking ceremony for the barracks of the 682nd Coastal Missile Brigade. Photo: People's Army Newspaper.

According to the People's Army Newspaper, on June 26, 2015, the Navy held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the barracks for the 682nd Coastal Missile Brigade, with plans to put it into operation in 2017, thus the deadline is fast approaching.

The equipment of the 682nd Brigade certainly cannot be the KCT 15 or Bal-E, or even the Klub-M or Bastion-P, as research is not yet complete, and there are no reports from Russia or any defense monitoring organization stating that Vietnam has ordered these systems.

However, given recent developments, it is highly likely that Brigade 682 will receive the land-to-sea version of the BrahMos missile. This is also logical because last year India announced a $500 million credit package for Vietnam to purchase weapons and equipment, and our officer cadets are still being trained in India.

Furthermore, the unit cost of the BrahMos missile when it enters mass production is only $2.3 million per missile (cheaper than the Yakhont), making it a logical addition to Vietnam's steel shield along the East Sea coast.

Given the standard organizational structure of the Indian Navy, it is highly likely that Brigade 682 will be equipped with up to two of these missile systems, rather than just one Bastion-P system like Brigade 681. Equipping a large number of them will make technical maintenance much easier and more economical.

According to Baodatviet