India set to sign its second BrahMos missile deal

New Delhi: India is all set to sell Indonesia the indigenous supersonic cruise missiles BrahMos in a deal worth at least $200 million. The deal will expand India's presence in Southeast Asia. 

BrahMos Aerospace CEO Atul D. Rane has said that the company was in advanced discussions with Jakarta on a deal worth $200 million to $350 million under which it had offered to supply shore-based missiles and a version that can be mounted on warships.

BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture between India and Russia that was set up in India in 1998. It has been negotiating with Indonesia for a possible purchase for some time. Last July,media reports had claimed that the two parties were in the final stage of talks for the possible order of the shore-based variant.

Through consistent policy initiatives of the government and tremendous contribution of the defence industry, India exported military hardware worth Rs 15,920 crore in the financial year 2022-23, almost ₹3,000 crore more than the previous financial year.

A team from the Indo-Russian joint venture, BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL), has already visited Indonesia's shipyard to study the possibility of fitting the missile.

On its part, Indonesia is preparing itself militarily for any eventuality in and around Natuna, suspecting that China is exploring opportunities to seize effective control of the islands. Both countries remain invested in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

Tensions between the two countries came to a head when, in December 2021, China demanded that Indonesia suspends oil and gas drilling in the water off its Natuna islands, also known as the North Natuna sea in Indonesia.

Indonesia did not stop the drilling, a job given to Noble Clyde Boudreaux on June 30, 2021, and completed on November 19. However, throughout that duration, Chinese and Indonesian ships shadowed each other around the oil and gas field, frequently coming within one nautical mile of each other.

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