In January, at a time when Pakistan was actively promoting JF-17 Thunder sales, leveraging its status as a “combat-tested” aircraft to attract buyers across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, media reports had said Indonesia was among the countries looking to buy the single-engine, multirole fighter jointly developed by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC).
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A Reuters report had then said Indonesia’s Defence Minister met the Pakistan Air Force chief and discussed the potential sale of the fighter jet and drones. “The meeting focused on discussing general defence cooperation relations, including strategic dialogue, strengthening communication between defence institutions, and opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields in the long term,” Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, spokesperson for Indonesia’s defence ministry, was quoted as saying.
The report had even quoted a source as saying that the country was looking to procure as many as 40 fighter jets from Pakistan.
A few weeks after talks of such a deal between Pakistan and Indonesia, reports emerged that Jakarta has finalised a deal with India for the procurement of the BrahMos missile system.
The deal was confirmed by defence spokesperson Rico Ricardo Sirait himself. According to media reports, he said the agreement was “part of the modernisation of military hardware and defence capabilities, especially in the maritime sector.”
The deal, estimated to be worth $200 million to $350 million, is aimed at boosting Indonesia’s coastal defences amid South China Sea tensions. BrahMos has a ship-launched variant that is designed to be launched in either vertical or inclined mode from moving or stationary maritime platforms, enabling stand-off strikes against sea and land targets. The missile, which the Indian Navy has deployed since 2005, has also demonstrated its salvo-launch capability, successfully striking one or multiple targets in different directions during a test firing from the Navy’s guided missile frigate.
As part of its growing defence export push, India has been selling BrahMos, jointly developed by India and Russia, which is one of the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missiles, with the Philippines being the first customer. Several countries, including Vietnam, Malaysia, South Africa, and Chile, are reported to have expressed interest in procuring the missile.
