Defense News & Insights

A CNBC Indonesia analysis argues the decades-long Airbus partnership is entering difficult years and that Italy's Leonardo - electronics and C4ISR heavy - is gaining ground; neither government has confirmed a shift.

The joint venture agreement signed at Euronaval on 5 November spans multi-role surface vessels, next-generation corvettes and submarines, with technology transfer and local supply-chain development - though no concrete ship contracts have been announced.

The deal, announced 12 November, makes Serco Inc. a nearly $2.5 billion US government services firm and adds 800 engineers working on satellite constellations and carrier deck systems.

BP BUMN head and Danantara COO Dony Oskaria said the government will invest heavily to strengthen the national defense industry, naming Pindad as the first capacity-building recipient; Defend ID booked Rp26.06 trillion consolidated revenue in 2024.

Announced at the Atlantic Future Forum on 12 November: an Atlantic undersea threat-detection deal combining autonomous systems and sensors, plus a multi-million-pound AI deployment integrating sensors and autonomous platforms across UK Commando Force.

The 411th Contracting Support Brigade reports an AI platform automating review of Quality Assurance Surveillance Plans, Safety Plans and contractor Quality Control Plans, used as a force multiplier amid staffing shortfalls.

The unmanned surface vessel was deployed in a combat simulation at Latopsfib 2026 involving 1,718 personnel; the defense minister called the operation a success and a marker of national defense technology progress.

The agreement signed at Euronaval in Paris covers design and construction of surface ships, submarines and next-generation corvettes, plus lifecycle support for Indonesia's defense ministry.

Under a life-cycle cost strategy, every foreign acquisition of defense equipment must now bequeath heavy maintenance capability to Indonesian industry, as the ministry pushes a 'Defence for Economy' vision.

Sjafrie Slamet directed some 3,000 ministry employees and TNI officers at Sentul on work alignment and integrity, citing an explicit 'organizational structuring and revitalization' program.

The $2.5 million award covers real-time detection and geolocation of more than 150 threat types using computer vision onboard the Ghost-X, integrated with ATAK and Lattice, drawing on a 3.2-million-image drone dataset.

The US Defense Innovation Unit awarded three ALPV semi-submersible unmanned vessel prototype contracts to Saronic, Sea Machines, and Rudder Industries. The same day, a MARTAC USV was handed to the Philippine Marine Corps.

JIATF-401 contracted DroneSec for unmanned-systems threat intelligence, while Canada's AirMatrix deployed its Libra sensor-fusion C2 platform for national defence. Both deals target the data layer of counter-drone operations.

Safe Pro Group won its first US Army prime contract, worth US$2.5 million, to run its autonomous threat detection software onboard Anduril Ghost-X drones. The software recognizes over 150 explosive threat types at the edge.

The Defence Ministry and Air Force will inaugurate a military drone squadron at Anang Busra Air Base in Tarakan in early 2027, the base commander says. Its stated role is cross-agency border surveillance in North Kalimantan.

FortiGuard Labs logged around 350,600 attempted cyberattacks against Indonesia in 24 hours, prompting a BSSN-banking coordination meeting and a parliamentary push to complete the Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Bill.

FortiGuard Labs logged around 350,600 attempted cyberattacks against Indonesia in 24 hours, prompting a BSSN-banking coordination meeting and a parliamentary push to complete the Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Bill.

The move follows a Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs meeting bringing BSSN and the banking sector together, after monitors logged around 350,600 attack attempts against Indonesia in 24 hours.

The contract covers the satellite's first feeder-link gateways and antennas, plus an integrated monitoring and control system tied into the satellite operations center.

Kratos will supply Q/V/Ka-band gateway and antenna systems plus an integrated monitoring and control system for Gulf Space Technology's software-defined THAICOM-10 satellite.

Delegations from Tanzania, the Bahamas, Dominica, Micronesia and others raised concrete follow-ups, including CN235 maintenance support in Tanzania and N219 interest from Caribbean and Pacific states.

The mid-three-digit-million-euro deal places hooklift-mounted gun systems at static sites, integrated into the allied Blue Dome command architecture, with deliveries from late 2028.

Belgium ordered 20 Skyranger 30 air defence systems from Rheinmetall to protect critical infrastructure, with deliveries starting in late 2028.

Vigor Marine, BAE Systems and Austal USA won depot-level maintenance and modernization contracts for USS Gridley, USS Cincinnati and USS Canberra, announced by the Department of Defense on the same day.

Vigor Marine, BAE Systems and Austal USA won depot-level modernization and repair work for a destroyer and two littoral combat ships, with completion dates in 2028.

The budget watchdog says spending on intelligence and surveillance technology across four institutions was mostly awarded through direct appointment, in the middle of the wiretapping scandal.

The Turkish TAIS design is among foreign frigates the US Navy is studying to speed up procurement, with the review due to the White House by 12 November.

The NZDF Future Fighting Concept asks the government to adapt acquisition rules so it can buy rapidly obsolete technology, citing AI, predictive analysis and machine teaming as priorities.

Indonesia's Energy Ministry handed over 102 state land plots covering 137.1 hectares in East Kalimantan to the Defense Ministry for Kopassus Group 4, formalised through a BAST signed on 6 November 2026.

The Pentagon granted robotics startup Machina Labs a US$9 million, 18-month trial to produce metal airframes for low-cost attack drones under the LUCAS program, Bloomberg reported on 6 November 2026.

The US Space Systems Command awarded Viasat an IDIQ contract with a US$450 million ceiling and an initial US$115 million task order to field the Mission Operations Center for the Space Data Network Backbone.

Four new Unhan RI procurement tenders, valued between Rp297.7 million and Rp2.85 billion, remain open for registration until 13-16 November 2026, according to the Defense Ministry SPSE portal.

The head of BP BUMN and COO of Danantara stated support for defense industry capacity expansion through production increases, adoption of up-to-date technology and strengthened investment, naming Pindad as a beneficiary.

The Ministry of Defense applies a life-cycle cost strategy: MRO budgets flow to state-owned defense companies, and purchases of new major weapon systems from abroad must transfer depot-level maintenance capabilities to domestic industry.

Officials said automated target recognition delivers real gains, while broader intelligence analysis remains unreliable enough that complex decisions still require humans in the loop.

Maritime AI company Windward has acquired Azimut.ai, adding automated visual intelligence capabilities intended to help identify vessels operating outside the coverage of conventional sensors.

BP BUMN and Danantara executives met PT LEN and PT Pindad directors, announcing large-scale investment support for the domestic defense industry.

Combined market capitalization of Hanwha Aerospace, LIG D&A, Hyundai Rotem, and KAI fell from about 170 trillion won to roughly 62 trillion won by end-October.

Saab, Kongsberg, Patria, Terma, Ericsson, and Nokia jointly called for harmonized certification standards and coordinated defense procurement across the Nordics.

The acquisition aims to combine Echodyne's compact detection radar with Shield AI's autonomy software to counter small drones.

The Defense University tender for a research and simulation laboratory, budgeted at Rp3 billion, closes on 11 November 2026.

The 10-year IDIQ agreement, with a $419 million ceiling, gives Army units access to Pega products and cloud services for business-process modernization.

The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center tasked Exiger with AI-based supply chain and industrial base risk analysis for the ICBM enterprise.

The 48-month project is funded by South Korea's defense ministry and industry ministry and overseen by the defense development agency (a domestic consortium is planned). The RAM-C AI Agent combines operational records, maintenance history, and sensor readings to assess equipment condition, predict fail

The Indonesian Navy's annual peak exercise (Armada Jaya XLIV FY2026) was opened at Kodiklatal Surabaya by Naval Education Commander Rear Admiral Achmad Wibisono representing Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Muhammad Ali, involving around 600 personnel via command-post drills and video conference. Five task-force commands are being tested: Naval Joint Task Force, Amphibious, Administrative Landing, Coast Def

Korea Aerospace Industries begins an AI predictive-maintenance program for military equipment — a reference model gaining attention across defense modernization programs in Southeast Asia.

A four-year vehicle data integration and digital logbook contract signals software as a standalone US Army procurement category.

A Kompas.id investigative series finds weak mastery of key defense technologies and calls offsets hard to audit without transparency.

A federal claims court ruled the Navy gave the drone-boat maker disparate treatment and must allow renewed sea trials while holding a bond above $1.5 million.

Advanced Acoustic Concepts will deliver sonar modules with AI-assisted target recognition, with options lifting the total to $196.2 million.

RTX/Raytheon received a $729 million contract for KuRFS sensors and Coyote effectors under the US Army's LIDS program — with the first international buyers (Qatar, Jordan) in fixed-site and mobile configurations. In parallel, AeroVironment (E-HEL prime, $464.8 million OTA in September 2026) selected Leonardo DRS for power and thermal management of the 30-kW LOCUST X3 laser — the US Army's first directed-energy weapons production contract.

A US military vehicle prime (Oshkosh) is partnering with a Silicon Valley startup (Grid Aero) to bring modular-payload autonomous aircraft into production — responding to the US Department of War's need for disruption-resilient autonomous platforms. The same pattern appears in the AV–Leonardo DRS subcontract (finding #2): big primes plus tech startups become the standard formula.

A brigadier general (of the Defense Ministry's National Defense Education Bacadnas center) described cognitive warfare as a modern threat that exploits the digital space to influence public thinking — delivered during national defense training; a companion ANTARA article (Bacadnas, ~31 Oct) stressed young people's resilience to hoaxes and provocation.

House of Representatives Commission I found indications of price markups and retrofit costs not fully reflected in contracts in the procurement of used defense equipment (context: F-16s, C-130s, patrol vessels, and the donated Garibaldi aircraft carrier requiring retrofit). The DPR is pushing for a BPKP technical audit, publication of fair-price data, and analysis

European Commission Commissioner Dombrovskis announced pilot drone and counter-drone technology hubs to launch in 2027, announced alongside NATO's DiBaX 2026 connectivity experiments.

Deputy Defense Minister Richard Tampubolon represented Indonesia at the ASEAN defense ministers' meetings in the Philippines, underscoring regional solidarity and defense cooperation.

The first ship of the US Navy's medium landing ship program will be built at Hanwha Philly Shipyard under the Vessel Construction Manager model, with an option for three more.

The defense-tech startup and the chipmaker have announced BlueChip, a hardware line for running AI on-device in government and defense environments, with orders opening in 2027.

The UK naval systems company announced on October 28 a £3 million award covering equipment for the Indonesian Navy's Bung Tomo-class frigates.

The memorandum signed on October 29 connects Ukrainian innovators to NATO's defence innovation network and opens joint technology testing — the first such deal with a country outside the alliance.