An export contract for the BrahMos missile from India to Indonesia is set to be a "game-changer" for the ties of the two Asian countries, experts have said.
Anak Agung Banyu Perwita, who is a professor of international relations at the Republic of Indonesia Defense University, reckons that a deal for the procurement of the BrahMos missile from India will be a game-changer for India-Indonesia ties given that the latter is looking for low-cost but highly reliable military equipment to defend its vast coastline that spreads to thousands of kilometers.
Furthermore, like India, Indonesia is also an emerging power and hence, the former perfectly fits the bill in the pursuit of developing robust military relations with the world's largest democracy, he noted.
"India's large basket of world-class defence products and Indonesia's strategy to reduce its reliance on Western weapons systems is a recipe for deepening defence cooperation between the two Asian democracies," Perwita told Sputnik India on Monday.
The academic explained that the BrahMos will be positioned in Indonesia's large islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Sulawesi as the threat from external actors and the Southeast Asian state's adversaries is the highest there.
As detecting the BrahMos is next to impossible, it bolsters Indonesia's capabilities manifold, helping it dominate the seas surrounding its territory, he added.
Meanwhile, Ian Montratama, a strategic analyst at the Pertamina University in Jakarta stated that BrahMos will boost Indonesia's deterrence as it has a longer range than the Muslim-majority nation's existing anti-ship missiles.
At present, the range of missiles that Indonesia uses in this segment stands at 120-230 km while the oldest variant of the BrahMos has a range of 290 km.
"Plus, Indonesia could push India to set up an MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) facility in the archipelago, thus offering Jakarta's military-industrial base to gain first-hand experience of the complex process of keeping a missile functional at all times," Montratama highlighted.
On the other hand, Rahul Yelwe, a senior research fellow at the Department of Security Studies, School of National Security Studies, Central University of Gujarat, underlined that for the past few years, defence exports have been the core objective of India's foreign policy and as a result, the country's defence exports have witnessed an exponential rise, breaching the $3 billion barrier in the last financial year.
South East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa have emerged as potential markets for India's defence products, he suggested.
"BrahMos has been a flagship defence product for India's military exports. The successful export of the missile to the Philippines has paved the way for further sale in the region, with Indonesia keen to acquire it for its naval forces," Yelwe remarked.
The researcher pointed out that the export of BrahMos to the countries in South East Asia will not just boost their defence capabilities but also deepen their bilateral defence cooperation with India, including establishing facilities for the joint production of various military items.
Additionally, the presence of Indian-made weapons systems will allow the Indian defense industry to closely work with the armed forces and defence industries of the respective countries.
Yelwe underscored that BrahMos is the world's fastest cruise missile with superior manoeuvrability. It has Mach 3 speed with a range of 290 km. Due to its exceptional speed and ski-skimming capability, the missile is hard to intercept by the enemy air defence, making the projectile a potent weapon for an anti-ship role.
"In conclusion, for a country like Indonesia with minimal resources for its defence (naval build-up), the Brahmos has become an ideal and cost-effective option to maintain its sea dominance in the region," he summed up.