English: Cruise missile BrahMos on display at IMDS-2007
Indonesia is set to become the latest operator of the BrahMos, a supersonic anti-ship missile with land-attack capabilities that was jointly developed by India and Russia.
The announcement took place in Jakarta on July 7 during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, marking a major step forward in defense ties between the two countries.
BrahMos Aerospace and Indonesia’s Ministry of Defense signed the contract, though both parties have withheld additional information — including the deal’s value, the quantity of missiles involved, and the timeline for delivery.
During their meeting at Merdeka Palace, Indonesia’s main presidential office, Prabowoc called Modi’s visit a “historic milestone” for the relationship between the two nations, adding that both sides had committed to expanding ties in defense, security, trade, energy, health, education and cultural exchanges.
“We are two of the world’s largest democracies. Cooperation between our countries will certainly bring benefits to the region,” Prabowo said, according to the Associated Press.
From his side, Modi stated that the relationship between India and Indonesia has gained “new energy” in the last few years.
“We are making significant strides in every field, including development, security, technology, culture and education,” Modi said.
The BrahMos was jointly developed during the 1990s by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Russian Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya on the basis of the P-800 Oniks.
Just like the Russian-made Oniks, the BrahMos can reach a speed of up to Mach 3 with the range of its latest version reaching over 800 kilometers. Upon approaching its target, the missile is capable of flying as low as three to ten meters to avoid detection.
The BrahMos relies on a complex guidance system built around a satellite-aided inertial navigation system and a jam-resistant active radar homing seeker. While it was mainly designed to engage water-born targets, it can strike ground-based targets as effectively.
The missile can be launched from land, sea and air. The air-launched version is reported to have a range of up to 500 kilometers. However, Indonesia will likely end up getting the export version of the BrahMos whose range is limited to 290 kilometers in line with the Missile Technology Control Regime.
It’s worth noting that Indonesia already operates the P-800. The Indonesian Navy’s Ahmad Yani-class frigate KRI Oswald Siahaan was fitted with the missile system during an upgrade completed around 2011.
Indonesia’s choice to procure the BrahMos was likely driven by a desire to sidestep potential Western sanctions. Even so, the deal would only have gone ahead with Russia’s approval already secured.
With this agreement, Indonesia joins the Philippines and Vietnam as the third country to export the supersonic missile system, cementing BrahMos’s growing footprint across Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, India is reportedly in the final stages of negotiating a separate deal with the United Arab Emirates, and an announcement could come very soon.
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