Indonesia eyes coastal, sea-launched BrahMos

Indonesia's armed forces have expressed interest in both coastal batteries and sea-launched versions of India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile as part of the Southeast Asian nation’s comprehensive military restructuring programme, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

- Rezaul H Laskar

The procurement of BrahMos missiles, jointly developed by India and Russia, figured in Indonesian defence minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin’s discussions with Indian interlocutors during his visit to New Delhi last month. Besides co-chairing the bilateral defence ministers' dialogue with his counterpart Rajnath Singh, Sjafrie visited BrahMos Aerospace for a briefing on the missile, the people said.

The Indian side also conveyed its support for the Indonesian military's plans to manufacture pharmaceutical products for public distribution, the people said on condition of anonymity. In July, Sja frie signed an agreement with Indonesia's food and drug supervisory agency for laboratories operated by the military to begin making drugs and medical supplies for civilians.