Published: January 17, 2025 3:08 pm
Author: RT
New Delhi has reportedly reached a deal to export the cruise missile, which is co-developed with Moscow, to Indonesia
India, Russia, and Indonesia have agreed on pricing for a deal to supply BrahMos cruise missiles to the Indonesian armed forces, the Hindustan Times reported on Thursday, citing sources. The development comes ahead of a visit by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to New Delhi later this month to take part in the celebrations of India’s Republic Day as chief guest.
Negotiations between India and Indonesia had been ongoing for at least seven years, the report noted. It also stated that Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-owned arms export agency, was involved in the discussions.
The three parties have now reached an agreement on a deal valued at $450 million, according to two sources cited by the Hindustan Times. The sources also do not rule out some kind of formal announcement about the deal being made during Subianto’s visit to New Delhi.
Earlier this month, the newspaper Indian Express reported that Indonesia’s Defense Ministry had sent a letter regarding a $450 million BrahMos deal to the Indian embassy in Jakarta, and that New Delhi would be offering a loan to the Southeast Asian country.
The development comes days after Indonesia’s formal accession to BRICS as a full member was announced by Brazil, which currently holds the group’s rotating presidency. Russia held the group’s rotating presidency in 2024 and hosted the most recent BRICS summit in October in Kazan.
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The first foreign buyer of the BrahMos was the Philippines, which received its first batch of the missiles in April under a $375 million deal signed in 2022. Talks about purchasing the missiles have also been held with Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates, the joint managing director of the Russian-Indian consortium BrahMos Aerospace, Alexander Maksichev, told TASS. Last November, Indian officials also named Saudi Arabia and Malaysia among potential buyers of the BrahMos.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Indian Army carried out a demonstration of the BrahMos at an extended range. A video shared by the Indian Army Southern Command Pune on X shows the projectile being launched towards a target in the Bay of Bengal.
#WATCH | Indian Army successfully conducted capability demonstration launch of the BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile at extended range, engaging a target in the Bay of Bengal with pinpoint accuracy.
(Video: Indian Army Southern Command Pune/X) pic.twitter.com/g2MXtXBURD
— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2025
Named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed jointly by India and Russia and has been widely deployed by the Indian military since 2005.
Engineered for precise long-range strikes against ground targets, the missile is capable of being launched from both mobile ground systems and frontline naval vessels. It can engage sea-based and surface targets across air, sea, and sub-sea platforms. The original range of 290km (180 miles) has been extended up to 500km through upgrades.
