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India, Indonesia Put in Place a Blueprint for a Durable Strategic Partnership

The highlight of the Indian prime minister’s visit to Indonesia was the finalization of a long-pending agreement on the supply of BrahMos missile system and Astra air-to-air missiles.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Prambanan Temple complex in Central Java, during his visit to Indonesia, July 9, 2026.

On July 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Jakarta for a two-day state visit. Indonesia was the first leg of Modi’s three-nation tour, which also includes official visits to Australia and New Zealand. This visit, which was Modi’s first standalone bilateral visit to Indonesia since both sides elevated their partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018, resulted in the two sides signing 20 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) or agreements, with substantive cooperation in areas including critical minerals, digital cooperation, maritime security, healthcare, agriculture, disaster management. India and Indonesia also agreed to continue work on the Sabang port project in Aceh.

However, it was the finalization of the long-pending agreement on cooperation in the field of defense, including the BrahMos missile system and Astra air-to-air missiles, that was the highlight of the visit. Although commercial details have not been disclosed, BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russia joint venture missile manufacturer, reportedly signed a contract with Indonesia’s Defense Ministry to supply the BrahMos missile system, covering supporting infrastructure, operator training, and maintenance services. The estimated cost is $630 million.

Separately, Republikorp, Indonesia’s largest privately owned defense industrial holding company, signed an agreement with India’s Bharat Dynamics on air-to-air missiles, paving the way for Jakarta to induct India’s indigenous Astra beyond-visual-range missile.

Speaking to The Diplomat, Dinakar Peri, a fellow in the Security Studies program at Carnegie India, explained how the Astra sale could boost “Made in India” weapons. “Securing Indonesia as the first export market for Astra marks a breakthrough for India in a highly competitive, niche area, allowing New Delhi to position itself as a serious defense exporter and effectively opening the door for future defense sales to the wider ASEAN market,” Peri said.

What makes these defense deals different from a simple one-off procurement sale is the underlying commitment to build a durable defense partnership, highlighted in India’s commitment to support Jakarta’s ongoing defense modernization program through “experience and expertise sharing.”

At the third India-Indonesia Defense Ministers’ Dialogue last year, India proposed a Joint Defense Industry Cooperation Committee to strengthen collaboration in areas such as technology transfer, joint R&D, certification harmonization, and supply-chain linkages. As Indonesia looks to modernize its armed forces, officials in Jakarta view India as a “natural partner” due to its “growing defense-industrial base.” Indonesia has expressed interest in building a partnership with India through “genuine cooperation, technology transfer, and co-production rather than transactions alone.”

While the specifics around the broader issue of sharing advanced missile technologies remain undisclosed to the public, in May this year, during his visit to Singapore, Indian Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said India has a strong commitment to “friendly foreign countries” (referring to the 11 ASEAN member states) with whom India “can share advanced defense technologies.”

On the question of introducing Indian military hardware into Indonesia’s notoriously fragmented defense........

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