India and Indonesia are close to reaching an agreement on the supply of the BrahMos cruise missile system, though crucial elements such as pricing and the number of batteries to be supplied are yet to be finalized, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
If the deal goes ahead, Indonesia will be the second foreign customer for the BrahMos missile jointly developed by India and Russia. India signed a deal worth approximately $375 million in January 2022 to supply the Philippine Marines with three batteries of missiles.
The above-mentioned people said, on condition of anonymity, that the BrahMos deal was discussed during Indonesian Defense Minister Jafari Shamsuddin’s visit to India last November and President Prabowo Subianto’s state visit to India in January 2025, when he was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.
“Discussions are continuing on critical issues such as cost, number of units and technology transfer, which is a key issue for Indonesia,” one of the people said.
There were no immediate comments from Indian officials regarding the proposed deal. Indonesian Defense Ministry spokesman Riko Ricardo Sirait told Reuters on Monday that the agreement between the two sides on the BrahMos missile system is “part of the modernization of military equipment and defense capabilities, especially in the maritime sector.” Rico’s statement seems to indicate that the Indonesian side is interested in the naval version of the BrahMos missile.
Indonesian Navy Commander Admiral Muhammad Ali visited BrahMos Aerospace, the manufacturer of the missile, during a visit to India in January 2025. A team from BrahMos Aerospace has also visited the state-run PT PAL shipyard in Surabaya since 2018 to evaluate the installation of the missile on Indonesian warships. Besides the BrahMos, India has offered to supply coastal defense radars and naval-type steel to Indonesia, and service Russian-made Su-30 fighter jets flown by the Indonesian Air Force.
The value of the deal with Indonesia to purchase the BrahMos missile is expected to reach about $450 million, as previously reported by HT. India effectively used the missile against Pakistan during the four-day military standoff in May 2025 under Operation Sindoor.
