Just after the Indonesian Defense Minister confirmed the purchase of Chinese J-10 fighters, the Indonesian side that the Indonesian military will also purchase China-made 022 missile boats, CM-302 supersonic anti-ship missiles (Oak Shot-12 foreign trade version), in local time on October 21, 2025, the Indonesian side again that the Indonesian Navy is buying a Chinese warships, this time a second-hand escort ship, belonging to the 053H3 type escort ship, or 054 escort ship, Indonesia will buy seven such second-hand escort ships from China in the near future.
According to the current purchase list, the Indonesian military intends to purchase from China, 7 second-hand 053H3 type, 054 escort ships; 3 second-hand 039A type conventional submarines; 42 second-hand J-10B type fighters; not less than 10 022 missile boats; at least one camp of Eagle Shot-12 supersonic anti-ship missiles!
From "Wanguo Brand" to China System: Why did Indonesia choose domestic products instead of buying Western equipment?
The previous equipment of the Indonesian Air Force said that it is unheard of the "big bullshit", the US-made F-16 and the Russian-made Su-30 have, looking at the model more, the actual use is all trouble.
Logistics must connect the two sets of systems at the same time, the parts are not common to say, the maintenance costs are still scary.In 2022, Indonesia also signed a contract with France to buy 8.1 billion dollars of "Wind", as a result of the Indian-Pakistan air war, "Wind" was directly suppressed by China's J-10C, and the real-world performance of the Indonesian side was hesitant, this contract was basically yellow.
In selecting the J-10B this time, Indonesia actually calculated the two accounts of "cost performance + actual combat". The J-10B is the main model used by our China Air Force itself. It is equipped with active phased array radar and digital flight control system. Its air combat capabilities are no worse than those of the "Gusts", but the second-hand unit price is only 38 million US dollars, less than one-fifth of the "Gusts".
More importantly, there is a real war back book - in 2025 the Pakistani air force to undertake the "Sindul operation", that is, to launch PL-15 missiles with the J-10C, over-the-clock the Indian warplanes hit down, this is the whole world is watching, can Indonesia not understand this aircraft "can really fight"?
Not only aircraft, but also the navy's orders are all aimed at "being able to form a systematic operation". Among the seven second-hand frigates, although the Type 053H3 has a small tonnage, only 2,250 tons, it is completely sufficient to guard Indonesia's offshore waters with YJ-8A anti-ship missiles and Haihongqi-7 anti-aircraft missiles; The Type 054 is more comprehensive. It has a vertical launch system and can stop anti-submarine helicopters, which just makes up for the shortcomings of "regional air defense" and "ocean escort" that the Indonesian Navy has been lacking.
Those three Type 039A submarines are even more critical. Indonesia's previous underwater power was basically a "decoration", while the 039A has an AIP system and can dive underwater for 20 days without having to float. It is then equipped with the Eagle Strike-12 missile to reach the Strait of Malacca. Once released, it can directly form a strategic deterrent-whoever wants to cause trouble here has to consider whether there are "China submarines" watching underwater.
022 missile boat + Eagle Shot-12: Indonesia wants to gain "small and harsh" naval asymmetrical advantage
In this order, there is a combination that is particularly noteworthy-the Type 022 missile boat and the CM-302 anti-ship missile. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a "maritime killer."
The 022 is our original twin-body stealth missile boat in China. It looks small and is only 220 tons fully loaded, but it can hold 8 Yingjian-83 anti-ship missiles in its belly. It can run at the fastest 50 knots, which is faster than many torpedo boats. Moreover, the stealth effect is good, and it is not easy to detect if it is hidden offshore.
Indonesia intends to buy at least 10 units, then deploy in the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea key navigation routes, engage in the "bee cluster tactics" - dozens of 022s jump up together, 50 nodes of speed can break through most anti-submarine networks, eight missiles are fired together, even a thousand-ton destroyer can not withstand this wave of strike.
The CM-302 anti-ship missile joined, the Indonesian anti-ship firepower directly up a big ladder. This missile is the foreign-trade version of Eagle Shot-12, with a range of 290 kilometers, speed can reach 4 Mach, that is, 4 times the speed of sound, the other air defense system has not much reaction time.
It can also use "Beidou + Active Radar" composite control, even if interrupted can also accurately find the target, near the target will also play "serpent-shaped mobility", hiding from each other's interceptor bullets.
Indonesia plans to buy at least one battalion of shore-based versions and place them on Sumatra and Kalimantan Islands. The range is just enough to cover the entire Strait of Malacca-any ship that dares to enter this range will have to live in fear of being locked in by missiles.
More interestingly, these two can cooperate with the J-10B, forming the "air-sea unity" strike chain. At that time the J-10B first flew out, using the radar to find the target, position, then pass the information to the 022 missile boats and land-based CM-302, then the "saturated attack" - the aircraft in the sky grip, the sea missile boats jump up, the missile on the shore recharge a wave, this tactic Pakistan used before, directly withdrew the Indian aircraft carrier, the effect has long been verified.
From “looking in the face of the West” to “telling yourself”: Indonesia’s defense strategy has completely shifted to
Indonesian buying so much Chinese equipment at once, on the surface is “updating weapons”, in fact, a major shift in national defense strategy.
Previously, Indonesia purchased weapons mainly from the West, but the West has never "sold good-hearted equipment" and always loved a bunch of political additional conditions.
For example, the United States sold the F-16, then Indonesia wanted to upgrade, the United States directed the neck, did not give technology nor give parts; France sold the "wind" more excessively, even Indonesia how to use, when to use, is equal to Indonesia spent money, but can not independently control defense, who can stand it?
And China's rules for selling weapons just hit Indonesia's needs - without any political conditions, but also providing lifelong technical support.This is perfectly in line with the Indonesian President Prabhupada's "Shield of the Islands" strategy: Indonesia has 1,70,000 islands, relying on others to protect is unrealistic, must build a secure defense system itself, and China can help it this goal.
Now the United States is engaged in the "Indo-Pacific strategy", a moment to help Australia to buy nuclear submarines, a moment to allow the Philippines to restart the U.S. military base, to build military forces to Southeast Asia, Indonesia in the middle, obviously feel the security pressure is growing.
Buying Chinese weapons, on the one hand, can balance the surrounding military power, such as dealing with Australian nuclear submarines, US bases in the Philippines; on the other hand, it can also maintain balance between China and the United States, without hanging on a side of the battle car – as the Indonesian defense minister said: “We are not bound to any alliance, we only choose the best partner for our country’s interests.”
Moreover, China not only sells equipment, but also follows up with after-sales guarantees. This is also an important reason why Indonesia is tempted.
In terms of training, China has long helped Indonesia to train several hundred Su-30 pilots, this time to buy the J-10B, and will also support the construction of a simulated training center, so that Indonesian pilots can get started quickly, do not have to wait three to five years to form combat force.
China's military-industrial enterprises will be in the warehouse of equipment parts in Jakarta, and the technical team will be stationed for 24 hours, whether the parts are broken or the equipment fails, can be repaired at any time.
More realistically, China has also promised to help Indonesia upgrade its old equipment, such as upgrading the Haihongqi-7 air defense missile on the 053H3 frigate to the more advanced Hongqi-16, so that these second-hand ships can keep up with current combat needs and not lag behind in a few years.
This arms sales are really not a simple "business". The significance behind them is great. For China, this shows that our military industry is no longer just relying on "cheap" to seize the market in the past. Now it can export a complete combat system and sell it from low-end equipment to high-end fields, and its strength has been truly recognized.
For Southeast Asia, Indonesia's choice may trigger a chain reaction-Malaysia and Thailand are already privately evaluating the feasibility of purchasing China equipment, and China will definitely account for a larger share of Southeast Asia's defense market in the future.
For the world, this is also the "global south" countries do not want to be the signal of the Western military monopoly, before the West said what to sell, how much to sell, other countries can only passively accept, now Indonesia dares to choose Chinese equipment, is in breaking this monopoly, the defense field will be more and more diverse.
Like Pakistan, China never sold weapons for military expansion, but to help its partners own defense capabilities – what you need, what I provide, without interfering with your internal affairs, but also to help you build a “win-win” model that is now recognized by more and more countries.
In the future, when Indonesia's J-10B flies into the sky and the 022 missile boat swims in the Strait of Malacca, these equipment are not only "weapons", but also a force to help break Western hegemony and build a multipolar world.
Source of information:
World Wide Web-Indonesia revealed that it will purchase China fighter jets. Indonesian Defense Minister: J-10 fighter jets "will fly to Jakarta soon."