PT Pindad recently got a capital injection of Rp 700 billion in 2015, 84.79 percent of which were allocated for production line renovation, 9.5 percent for explosives development, and 3.57 percent and 2.14 percent, respectively, for corporate facilities and human resource development.

With that achievement and full government support, Pindad is reaching for the stars in the region.

"I dare to say that Pindad now is the best [weaponry manufacturer] in Southeast Asia. But in Asia, we have many strong competitors, such as India, China and South Korea. We need to work harder to compete with them," former CEO Silmy Karim said.

Read our Longform story, 'Shooting for the moon: Eyeing the world's best weapons store industry' here.

(The Jakarta Post/ Anton Hermansyah)

EDITOR'S NOTE: The interview and filming took place on July 13, when Silmy Karim was still leading Pindad as president director. On Aug. 3, the government appointed Abraham Mose to replace Silmy, who -- according to the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry’s assistant for mining, strategic industries and media, Fajar Harry Sampurno -- will be promoted to lead another SOE.