India is set to supply Indonesia with two batteries of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles valued at $200 million, as part of several other landmark defence agreements signed between the two countries on Tuesday, including Astra air-to-air missile systems, major defence technology transfers, and maritime security, top officials told The Indian Express.
A BrahMos battery typically comprises four launchers and 12 ready-to-fire missiles along with other equipment and vehicles, though the composition can vary between land-based regiments and coastal defence batteries.
With this, India is now set to export the BrahMos missiles to three countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam. India is also in talks with at least half a dozen other countries for the export of the BrahMos.
Philippines had procured three batteries of weapon systems from India in 2022. In May this year, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh officially confirmed at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that India has signed a deal with Vietnam for the sale of the BrahMos missiles and that a similar deal with Indonesia is in “final stages”. He had said that countries generally sell sophisticated weapon systems and platforms to nations they regard as friendly partners.
New Delhi has been in talks with Jakarta over the sale of the missile system under a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
The Indian Express had also reported that the finer details of the deal were discussed during the third India-Indonesia defence ministers’ dialogue co-chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin in New Delhi in November last year.
BrahMos missile played key role in Operation Sindoor
The supersonic cruise missile has been operationalised in all three defence services and played a key role in attacking set targets inside Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
Brahmos Aerospace Private Ltd is also looking to export the missile system and its compact next-gen version BrahMos NG to at least 10 countries, including South Africa and West Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt. Work has been underway to upgrade the range of the existing BrahMos missiles from 290 km to 500 km for land attacks and 400 km for ship attacks.
