Missile supply contract with Indonesia in final stage, says Singh
India is to supply BrahMos missiles Vietnam under a deal that is understood to have been signed while another missile export contract with Indonesia is in a final stage as the Make in India defence products get widely accepted in globally, including the immediate regional markets of South East Asia.
“My understanding is that with both Indonesia and with Vietnam, the deal is in the final stages that in fact, for Vietnam, I understand that it has already been signed, probably not publicly announced, but it’s already been signed,” Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said at a defence summit on 30 May in Singapore.
The Philippines, which signed a contract worth nearly USD375 million in 2022, was the first foreign buyer of the tried and tested BrahMos missile system from India under a US$375 million contract signed in 2022.
Indonesia had confirmed in March an agreement with India to procure the BrahMos missile system, a deal which will increase the Indian-Russian Joint Venture missiles export to 11-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) seeking to strengthen defence ecosystem.
Both the values of the Vietnam and Indonesia deals have not been officially announced yet.
Speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue 2026, held 29-31 May, Singh updated delegates on India’s defence export strategy, saying the technologies were only shared with “friendly countries”. The sophisticated weapons systems and platforms were sold to “people you trust”.
He assured that India has a strong commitment to the ASEAN nations, “and we treat all of you as ‘friendly foreign countries’ with whom we can share advanced defence technologies”.
Singh has told delegates that India was ready to work with partners across the region and beyond to build resilient supply chains, trusted defence partnerships, secure maritime commons and innovation cooperation. “Today, resilience has become one of the defining strategic requirements of our time.”
Singh highlighted India’s major reforms undertaken in defence production, innovation and exports over the past decade. Greater private-sector participation was allowed to strengthened indigenous design and manufacturing and expanded collaboration with global partners. He said startups and small industries were being encouraged to be part of the larger defence manufacturing ecosystem.
The government-owned companies accounted for nearly 72 per cent of India’s defence production, while the private sector contributed the rest. Three Indian government-owned defence firms were among the world’s top 100 arms-producing companies, he underscored.
The Indian defence industry had developed capabilities in areas such as missile systems, fighter aircraft and main battle tanks, while efforts were underway to bridge gaps in propulsion technologies across land, air and sea domains, he said. fiinews.com
