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Indonesia grows muscles as arms manufacturer
Countries are interested in Indonesia's long-barreled weapons and tanks.
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State-owned weapons maker PT Pindad workers prepare the Harimau medium tank during the Indo Defense Expo 2018 at the Jakarta International Expo in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Dhoni Setiawan)
W
hile modernizing its weaponry system, the country’s defense industry has become a competitive producer of weapons and military vehicles, as seen in the surge of exports.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded growth in defense equipment exports in January-September, an increase of 500 percent to US$ 479,500 from the same period in 2018. The main export destinations for weapons and ammunition were South Africa, Belgium and Japan.
The country also exports combat vehicles to various countries, recording an increase of 38 percent to US$ 1.07 billion during the first nine months of the year. The main destinations for the combat vehicles were the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.
In his first two months serving as defense minister, Prabowo Subianto has toured countries and received visits from his counterparts, during which he has actively marketed Indonesian defense equipment.
The minister's spokesperson, Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, said the ministry had secured new purchase deals for state-owned weapons manufacturer PT Pindad from several countries following Prabowo’s round of meetings.
“Laos, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates are thinking about purchasing more defense equipment from Pindad,” he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Pindad corporate secretary Tuning Rudyati confirmed the aforementioned countries had expressed interest in purchasing defense equipment from Indonesia.
