U.S. and Philippine Marines Link Hermes Drones to BrahMos Strikes Against Simulated Chinese Warships

U.S. and Philippine forces exercised a sensor-to-shooter chain linking Philippine Air Force Hermes drones with road-mobile BrahMos anti-ship missile batteries during ACDC 26.4 in northern Luzon. The scenario used a simulated Chinese naval formation comprising two Type 052D destroyers, a Type 054A frigate and a Type 901 support ship. Hermes aircraft supplied maritime surveillance and targeting information while Marine units rehearsed the procedures needed to cue coastal missile crews. No live BrahMos missile was fired; the event tested command integration and distributed targeting within the Philippines’ Archipelagic Coastal Defense Concept.