Rank #26 · Asia-Pacific
Indonesia spent $15.0B on defense in 2025, around 1.0% of GDP — among the lowest defense burdens in Southeast Asia despite an expansive archipelagic posture. Under President Prabowo Subianto (inaugurated October 2024), modernization has accelerated with Rafale deliveries beginning in 2026 and the 2026 defense budget rising to Rp 187.1T.
The FY2025 defense allocation totaled approximately Rp 166.3T (~US$10.5B in budgetary terms; SIPRI's broader $15B figure includes off-line items, security forces, and pensions). The FY2026 budget rises to Rp 187.1T, with President Prabowo committing to push the burden to 1.5% of GDP — a substantial lift from the historical 0.7-1.0% range. Procurement is dominated by major-ticket Air Force and Navy items: Rafale fighters, KF-21 Boramae partnership, Scorpène submarines, FREMM-derived Merah Putih frigates, and KAAN cooperation with Turkey. The flagship free-meals social program competes for fiscal space, and analysts note recurring tension between welfare spending and modernization.
The Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) fields roughly 396,000 active personnel: ~300,000 Army, ~74,000 Navy (including ~20,000 Marines), and ~30,000 Air Force. The territorial command (Kodam) structure is being reinforced to cover the archipelago's outer islands. The Air Force flies F-16C/D Block 25/52, T-50i Golden Eagles, and aging Hawk 209s; Rafale F4 deliveries from France began in 2026 (42 on order, US$8.1B). The Navy operates 4 Bung Tomo and Diponegoro-class corvettes, 5 Type 209/Nagapasa-class submarines, with 2 Scorpène-class on order. KAAN deal with Turkey (48 aircraft) and KF-21 partnership with South Korea round out 5th-generation aspirations.
Indonesia's domestic defense industry is anchored by three state-owned BUMNs: PT Pindad (small arms, armored vehicles including the Anoa and Maung), PT Dirgantara Indonesia / PTDI (CN-235, NC-212, helicopter assembly), and PT PAL (shipbuilding, including the indigenous Merah Putih frigate based on the Italian Bergamini design). Technology-transfer requirements are increasingly central to procurement: the KF-21 partnership and Scorpène construction at PT PAL embed offset/ToT clauses. Despite this, Indonesia remains a substantial net importer with diversified suppliers — France (Rafale, Scorpène), South Korea (KF-21, T-50), Turkey (KAAN, Bayraktar drones), the US (F-16, MV-22), and China (anti-ship missiles).
Indonesia has no active interstate war but faces growing maritime pressure from China in the North Natuna Sea, where PRC coast guard vessels routinely intrude into Indonesia's EEZ near the Tuna Block gas field. The 2020 standoff and subsequent reinforcement of the Natuna naval base reflect a hardening posture, though Jakarta avoids overt alignment with the QUAD or AUKUS. Internal security challenges include low-intensity insurgency in Papua (TPNPB-OPM) and counter-terror tasking against ISIS-affiliated cells. Indonesia continues to host UN peacekeeping deployments (MONUSCO, UNIFIL).
On April 27, 2026 SIPRI placed Indonesia's 2025 spending at $15.0B. Dassault Rafale deliveries to Indonesia began in 2026 under the September 2022 contract for 42 aircraft. President Prabowo, inaugurated October 20, 2024, has driven TNI organizational reforms and emphasized maritime modernization. In 2025 Indonesia signed a USD 10B framework with Turkey for 48 KAAN fighters, though financing remains uncertain. The first KF-21 Boramae prototype completed flight tests with Indonesian engineers participating, despite recurring South Korean concerns over Jakarta's overdue cost-share payments. Natuna Sea incidents continued through Q1 2026.
Indonesia spent $15.0B on defense in 2025, around 1.0% of GDP — among the lowest in Southeast Asia by share. The FY2026 allocation rises to Rp 187.1T, and President Prabowo has stated a target of 1.5% of GDP over his term.
42 Dassault Rafale F4 fighters under a September 2022 contract worth approximately US$8.1B, with deliveries beginning in 2026. Indonesia is also a junior partner in South Korea's KF-21 Boramae program (planned 50 aircraft) and signed a 2025 framework with Turkey for the KAAN 5th-generation fighter.
China's "nine-dash line" in the South China Sea overlaps with Indonesia's EEZ around the Natuna Islands. PRC coast guard and fishing-fleet incursions near the Tuna Block gas field have produced repeated standoffs since 2016. Indonesia rejects the dispute formally but has reinforced naval, air, and marine deployments to Natuna.
No. Indonesia is a party to the NPT, the Treaty of Bangkok (Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone), and the TPNW. Civilian nuclear power is in long-term planning (BATAN), but no military nuclear program exists or has been pursued.