Indonesia is eager to sell defence goods to Pakistan

The Government of Indonesia has formally offered to sell defence equipment, including transport aircraft and armoured vehicles, to Pakistan.

According to Indonesia’s state-owned news agency Antara, the offer was made on Tuesday by the country’s Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Legal Affairs Wiranto (one name) to Pakistan’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Rashad Mahmood, who is on an official visit to the Asia-Pacific region.

“We have also offered our defense equipment to them, including the Anoa armored vehicle, assault rifle, and CN-235 aircraft,” said Wiranto to Indonesian reporters.

Notes, Comments & Analysis:

The Pindad SS2 assault rifle is the current standard issue rifle deployed with the Indonesian armed forces. Introduced in 2005, the Pindad SS2 is a 5.56x45mm NATO design. Given the large size of Pakistan’s small-arms market, which encompasses military, paramilitary, and law-enforcement users, it is not surprising to see Indonesia pursue the opportunity. However, 5.56 NATO is not typically used outside of Pakistan’s special operations forces and law-enforcement agencies. Small batch orders are plausible, but large-scale adoption cannot be expected.

The Pindad Anoa is a 6×6 wheeled armoured personnel carrier (APC). The Anoa APC could be of potential interest to Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior, which does utilize light armoured wheeled vehicles to transport personnel. In this respect, however, the Anoa may be in direct competition with the Dragoon 4×4 APC, which is produced under license by Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT).

PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) was one of the initial development partners of the CN-235 program, and as such, it currently manufactures the aircraft under license from Airbus.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) operates four CN-235s in the light utility transport role, particularly in areas requiring the CN-235’s short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities, such as the Northern Areas. As a very widely adopted platform in armed forces as well as civilian markets, the PAF should comfortably be able to depend on the CN-235, and in time, perhaps expand the fleet. This is perhaps the most likely product Pakistan may be interested in procuring from Indonesia, at least in the short-term. It is also worth noting that PTDI is also a licensed producer of Airbus’ H215 Super Puma and Bell 412EP utility helicopters.