Indonesia to restart procurement process for more Exocet missiles

An Exocet MM40 Block 3 missile being launched from an Indonesian Navy Bung Tomo-class frigate. The country's latest attempt to replenish its stock of Exocet missiles has been delayed by non-conformity issues. (Indonesian Navy Armada I)

Indonesia will have to restart a process to replenish the country's stock of MBDA Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-ship missiles after an earlier attempt failed because of licensing non-conformity issues.

A 24 February letter from the Indonesian Ministry of Finance's (MoF's) Directorate General of Budget Financing and Risk Management sent to various departments at the country's Ministry of Defense (MoD) confirmed that a previously granted permission to procure the missiles with foreign loans has now lapsed.

A copy of the letter was provided to Janes on 18 March by sources close to the procurement process.

In the letter, the MoF advised the respective MoD departments to resubmit a request for a total of three programmes for which the permission to take on foreign loans has lapsed, including the Exocet missile procurement.

Besides the Exocet missiles, the two other programmes are the procurement of mounted 81 mm mortar systems of unspecified quantity and make and the procurement of an unspecified quantity of FN Minimi 5.56 mm light machine gun units. The beneficiaries of these two programmes are various combat units of the Indonesian Army.

The Indonesian MoD had earlier awarded local defence company PT Republik Defensindo a contract to procure a batch of 15 Exocet missile rounds, with the intention that this company act as a local representative of MBDA.

However, Janes