world · 2026-07-07
India Signs BrahMos Deal with Indonesia
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India and Indonesia signed deals for BrahMos and Astra missiles plus EVMs during PM Modi's Jakarta visit to meet President Prabowo.This is India's biggest defence export push in Southeast Asia, strengthening ties as both nations counter China's growing Indo-Pacific presence.Indian defence firms like BrahMos Aerospace and DRDO gain a major export customer, while Indonesia upgrades its military capability.
What exactly did India and Indonesia agree on?
India signed three key deals: BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, Astra air-to-air missiles, and electronic voting machines. BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture with Russia, has previously exported to the Philippines. The EVM deal is notable as India's first major export of its election technology to a large democracy.
Has Indonesia bought Indian weapons before?
Indonesia has not previously bought major Indian weapon systems. Its military has historically relied on Russian Su-27 jets and French submarines. The Philippines' 2022 BrahMos purchase, worth ~$375Mn, was India's first major missile export. Indonesia's deal likely surpasses that in scale given its larger military.
How does BrahMos compare to Chinese missiles?
BrahMos flies at Mach 2.8, roughly three times the speed of China's YJ-18 anti-ship missile. This speed advantage makes it nearly impossible for current ship-based defences to intercept. For ASEAN navies operating in the South China Sea, this capability gap is the core selling point over cheaper Chinese alternatives.
What's the EVM deal's significance?
India's EVMs have been used domestically since 2004 but never exported at scale. Indonesia, which conducts the world's largest single-day election with ~200Mn voters, currently uses paper ballots. Adopting Indian EVMs would be a significant validation of the technology and could open doors to other democracies exploring electronic voting.
Why does this deal matter beyond revenue?
The BrahMos deal positions India as a credible alternative to Chinese and Russian arms in Southeast Asia. Indonesia, with the largest military in ASEAN, choosing Indian missiles sends a signal across the region. For context, India's total defence exports crossed ~₹21K Cr in FY24, and deals like this could double that pipeline.
Could this reshape ASEAN arms sourcing?
ASEAN nations spent ~$40Bn on defence in 2024, with most equipment sourced from the US, Russia, and China. India's share was under 2%. If Indonesia's purchase succeeds operationally, Vietnam and Malaysia, both with South China Sea disputes, become natural next customers. The Philippines already set the precedent.
What makes the deal viable commercially?
Defence exports work on long procurement cycles. A missile sale locks in decades of maintenance, spare parts, and training revenue. BrahMos Aerospace earns ~60% of lifetime revenue from after-sale servicing. For India's defence industrial base, each export customer effectively guarantees a 20-to-30-year revenue stream beyond the initial sale.
Does China view this as a provocation?
China's foreign ministry typically protests Southeast Asian arms purchases that enhance anti-ship capability near the South China Sea. When the Philippines bought BrahMos in 2022, Beijing called it 'destabilizing.' Indonesia's larger military weight makes this deal harder to ignore. Beijing may respond by accelerating its own missile sales to Myanmar or Cambodia.
Who in India's defence sector benefits most?
BrahMos Aerospace, headquartered in New Delhi, is the primary beneficiary, gaining its second export customer after the Philippines. DRDO benefits from Astra validation abroad. Indian EVM manufacturer ECIL gains a new market. Indonesian armed forces get missile systems that outrange most Chinese equivalents deployed in the South China Sea.
What drove Modi's three-nation tour timing?
Modi's tour covers Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore. The timing coincides with heightened US-China tensions in the South China Sea and Washington's push for Indo-Pacific partners to diversify away from Chinese military dependence. India is positioning itself as a non-Western, non-aligned arms supplier, a niche no other major democracy currently fills.
How does India's Indo-Pacific arc strategy work?
India's Indo-Pacific strategy connects bilateral defence deals into a network. Each arms sale creates interoperability. If Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam all operate BrahMos, their navies can share training, logistics, and intelligence. This mirrors how NATO standardized on US equipment. India becomes the hub of a loose maritime security architecture without formal alliance obligations.
Could defence ties deepen further?
Joint production is the logical next step. India offered to co-produce BrahMos with the Philippines but the deal stalled. Indonesia's larger industrial base, with state-owned PT Pindad already manufacturing weapons, makes co-production more feasible. If Indonesia assembles BrahMos locally, it would be the first offshore BrahMos production facility.
Source: indianexpress.com