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BrahMos vs JF-17 fighters: How Indonesia has become a key battleground for India-Pakistan arms race

India and Pakistan are engaged in a strategic competition to supply military hardware to Indonesia. While India is advancing talks to sell its supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, Pakistan is aggressively marketing its JF-17 Thunder fighter jet

By The Week News Desk Updated: January 13, 2026 16:59 IST

Amid reports that India and Indonesia are advancing military ties, with the possible sale of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile to Jakarta, Pakistan too is trying to pitch its defence equipment to the country, especially JF-17 Thunder jets.

In November, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh confirmed that Indonesia has made a bid to purchase the BrahMos missile, saying, "Indonesia has requested to purchase the BrahMos missile being manufactured in Lucknow." 

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Now, Pakistan, which has intensified efforts to market the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet globally as a cost-effective multirole aircraft, claimed that Indonesia has joined Libya, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia in expressing interest in buying the JF-17.

Indonesian Defence Minister Lieutenant General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (Retd) called on Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir on Monday at General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi and discussed matters of mutual interest, evolving regional and global security dynamics, and exploration of avenues for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation.

The Indonesian defence minister expressed his country's desire to further expand defence ties with Pakistan across multiple domains.

A leading Urdu-language paper, The Jang, reported that the Indonesian defence minister, during his meeting with Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, Chief of Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force, discussed a defence agreement to buy 40 JF-17 Thunder, developed jointly by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC).

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Pakistan has been claiming that the jet has proved its capabilities during the conflict with India last year. A few days ago, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said his country has been receiving so many orders that Pakistan may not need the International Monetary Fund bailout in six months.

India, which has already exported Brahmos to the Philippines, has been discussing the sale deal with Indonesia for a quite some time. A possible sale would be major step in India's journey towards Aatmanirbharata in defence and would boost the nation's stature as a global arms supplier.

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