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Indonesia is likely to become the next foreign buyer of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, with negotiations between New Delhi and Jakarta entering the final stage.
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh indicated at the Shangri-La Dialogue that discussions with Indonesia were nearing conclusion, suggesting that another major breakthrough in India’s defence export drive could be on the horizon.
The development comes days after India publicly confirmed the signing of a BrahMos missile agreement with Vietnam, making Hanoi the second Southeast Asian country, after the Philippines, to acquire the weapon system.
Sources familiar with the negotiations say both sides are now focused on finalising financial arrangements and delivery schedules. Discussions have gathered momentum over the past year, with Indonesian defence officials making multiple visits to India to assess the missile’s capabilities and production infrastructure.
During one such visit, an Indonesian delegation toured BrahMos facilities and received detailed presentations on the missile system. Officials were also briefed on different operational variants of the weapon.
Indonesia’s interest is understood to be centred initially on the naval version of the missile, which can be deployed from warships for anti-ship missions. Jakarta has also examined the possibility of acquiring the air-launched variant, which could potentially be integrated with its fleet of Su-30 fighter aircraft.
The planned acquisition has featured in recent defence engagements between the two countries. It was also discussed during the third India-Indonesia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue.
Indonesia will become the third ASEAN member state to acquire BrahMos once the deal is signed, highlighting the missile’s growing appeal across Southeast Asia.
The region has emerged as a key market for India’s flagship defence export, as governments in the region and Gulf countries seek to strengthen maritime deterrence capabilities amid continuing tensions in the South China Sea and the West Asia crisis.
Jointly developed by India and Russia, BrahMos is among the fastest operational cruise missiles in service today. Its combination of speed, accuracy, and sea-skimming capability has attracted interest from a number of countries seeking credible anti-ship and land-attack options.
The Philippines became the first export customer in 2022 after signing a $375 million contract for shore-based anti-ship missile batteries. Vietnam’s agreement, confirmed publicly, represents another major step in India’s effort to expand defence exports.
Officials say interest in the missile has grown further following its operational performance and India’s increasing willingness to export advanced military systems to friendly countries.
For New Delhi, a successful conclusion of the Indonesian deal would strengthen defence ties with one of Southeast Asia’s most influential nations while reinforcing India’s position as an emerging supplier of advanced military hardware in the Indo-Pacific.
While neither side has announced a timeline for signing the contract, defence sources indicate that negotiations have moved beyond technical evaluations and are now focused on concluding the remaining commercial details.
Nitin A. Gokhale
Author, thought leader and one of South Asia's leading strategic analysts, Nitin A. Gokhale has forty years of rich and varied experience behind him as a conflict reporter, Editor, author and now a media entrepreneur who owns and curates two important digital platforms, BharatShakti.in and StratNewsGlobal.com focusing on national security, strategic affairs and foreign policy matters.
At the beginning of his long and distinguished career, Gokhale has lived and reported from India’s North-east for 23 years, writing and analysing various insurgencies in the region, been on the ground at Kargil in the summer of 1999 during the India-Pakistan war, and also brought live reports from Sri Lanka’s Eelam War IV between 2006-2009.
Author of over a dozen books on wars, insurgencies and conflicts, Gokhale relocated to Delhi in 2006, was Security and Strategic Affairs Editor at NDTV, a leading Indian broadcaster for nine years, before launching in 2015 his own digital properties.
An alumni of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies in Hawaii, Gokhale now writes, lectures and analyses security and strategic matters in Indo-Pacific and travels regularly to US, Europe, South and South-East Asia to speak at various international seminars and conferences.
Gokhale also teaches at India’s Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), the three war colleges, India's National Defence College, College of Defence Management and the intelligence schools of both the R&AW and Intelligence Bureau.
He tweets at @nitingokhale
