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Indonesia's Acquisition of BrahMos to Boost Its Navy's Deterrence Capabilities

© AP Photo / MANISH SWARUPBrahmos missile
Brahmos missile  - Sputnik India, 1920, 17.05.2024
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The BrahMos missile is making huge waves in the international market, with Indonesia joining the list of countries interested in procuring the rocket from India.
India and Indonesia are close to a breakthrough for a deal on the BrahMos missiles with the Secretary General of the Indonesian Defense Ministry, Air Marshal (Retd) Donny Ermawan Taufanto, meeting Atul Rane, the chief of BrahMos Aerospace, the manufacturer of the widely acclaimed supersonic missile.
During the meeting held in New Delhi earlier this month, the two discussed the export of BrahMos missiles to Indonesia.
This came after Jakarta recently stated that ties with India were important.
"Minister of Defense Prabowo also revealed that maintaining the harmony of bilateral relations and cooperation between Indonesia and India is a priority, and hopes to have further discussions to discuss efforts to strengthen mutually beneficial bilateral relations between the two countries," Indonesia’s President-elect and incumbent Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto said following his meeting with Indian Ambassador in Jakarta Sandeep Chakravorty last week.
It is worth highlighting that Indonesia has been interested in the BrahMos missile for some time, with the Indian military-industrial complex hopeful of a deal coming through this year.
Against this backdrop, Dr. Ian Montratama, who is an analyst of strategic affairs and professor of international relations at Indonesia's Pertamina University in Jakarta emphasized that the Southeast Asian nation badly needed the BrahMos missile to guard its vast maritime boundary.
For people who are not aware, the world's largest Islamic state by population shares maritime borders with 10 nations.
Among the countries that have maritime boundaries with Indonesia are India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Palau, the Philippines, Timor Leste, and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

A Natural Fit For Indonesia’s Military

"The BrahMos deal with India is to fulfill the Indonesian Navy's requirement for anti-ship missiles that once used Yakhont missiles," Montratama told Sputnik India on Friday.
Yakhont missiles were the export version of Russia's Onyx missiles. One must not forget that the BrahMos is based on the Onyx algorithm.
Besides the Yakhont, Indonesia also put into use the Chinese-built C-705 medium-range anti-ship and the C-802 subsonic anti-ship cruise missiles.
The academic opined that a contract for BrahMos missiles with India could become even sweeter if the archipelagic nation got a "Transfer of Technology (ToT)" agreement in place.
"If Indonesia can get ToT for BrahMos, it will boost Indonesian defense's deterrence as local defense industries like PT. Pindad (Persero) can develop various types of ballistic missiles," Montratama concluded.
Indian army Brahmos missile launcher passes on a flotilla towards the India Gate memorial during a rehearsal for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011. - Sputnik India, 1920, 23.04.2024
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