India’s BrahMos Aerospace and the Philippines are set to sign a deal on Friday for the Philippine Marines to acquire three batteries of the BrahMos cruise missile in a deal worth almost $375 million, people familiar with the matter said.

The deal for the BrahMos was conceptualized as far back as 2017, and the office of the Philippines president approved its inclusion in the military’s “Horizon 2 Priority Projects” in 2020.

Hindustan Times first reported in December 2019 that the Philippines was set to become the first country to buy the BrahMos missile system. Both sides were keen on signing the deal during a proposed visit by President Rodrigo Duterte early in 2021, but the plan fell through because of widespread disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.