Singapore – Indonesia has become the first country in Southeast Asia to deploy a tactical ballistic missile system that will enhance its short-range battlefield capabilities, based on sightings by military enthusiasts in East Kalimantan.
Pictures of the KHAN missile, produced by Turkish manufacturer Roketsan, surfaced on the Sahabat Keris Facebook page last Friday (Aug 1) and have been widely reported by defence blogs, as well as Indonesian news portal Kompas.
Photos of the missile on a launcher were reportedly taken at the Indonesian Army's Raipur A facility in East Kalimantan.
Ballistic missiles are rocket-propelled missiles that can carry nuclear or conventional warheads.
The 7.1m KHAN missile has a diameter of 610mm and a range of up to 280km, according to Roketsan's website. It weighs 2,500kg and is armed with a 470kg high-explosive warhead.
It has an accuracy of sub-10m circular error probability, providing "accurate and effective fire power on strategic targets in the battlefield", according to Roketsan.
Potential targets include artillery and air defence systems, radar sites and logistics facilities.
The range of the KHAN missiles extends Indonesia's strike radius into disputed maritime corridors, noted news site Defence Security Asia.
While Indonesia is not a claimant of the South China Sea, China's "nine-dash line" claiming most of the waterway overlaps with Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near the oil- and gas-rich Natuna Islands.
Indonesia placed its KHAN missile order in November 2022 and is the first military force outside of Turkiye to have the missile in its inventory, Roketsan's deputy general manager Murat Kurtulus reportedly said at the time.
CNA has sent queries to the Indonesian military on how many KHAN missiles it acquired and where it is deploying them.
Southeast Asia's largest economy has been looking to modernise its ageing military hardware as well as diversify its defence suppliers in recent years.
In 2022, Indonesia purchased 42 Rafale jets from France for US$8.1 billion.
China has also reportedly offered to sell its J-10 fighter jets to Jakarta.
Indonesia has enhanced cooperation with Turkish defence manufacturers in recent months.
In June at the Indo Defence 2025 exhibition, it signed two contracts with Roketsan – one for the procurement of the ATMACA Anti-Ship Missile and the ATMACA Weapon System, and the second for a planned joint venture agreement to develop local capabilities in Indonesia for the "assembly, domestic production, and sustainability of missile technologies", announced Roketsan.
Last month, Indonesia signed a contract to buy 48 KAAN fighter jets from Turkiye. The stealth twin-engine fighter, developed by the state-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries, is set to enter production soon with deliveries to the Turkish Air Force expected by 2028 or 2029.