Indonesia has confirmed the acquisition of 12 second-hand Mirage 2000-5s, a temporary solution pending the delivery of an order for 42 Rafales and thirty American F-15s.
“We must strengthen our defense, our deterrence. Today, many of our devices are old and need to be modernized,” Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said, emphasizing the need for short-term operational devices, according to a video posted late Thursday. . by the local news agency Antara.
Indonesia has acquired the Mirage formerly used by Qatar for 733 million euros from Excalibur International, a subsidiary of the Czech defense group CSG, the Defense Ministry reported.
42 Rafale for 8,100 million dollars
Indonesia announced in 2022 that it wanted to buy 42 Rafales for 8.1 billion dollars, signing a first tranche of 6 aircraft. The Indonesian air force has outdated equipment, mainly American F-16s, British Hawk 100/200s and Russian Sukhoi Su-27s and Su-30s, which need to be modernized, and is in negotiations with multiple partners to revamp its combat. aircraft.
Jakarta had signed an order for 11 Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia in 2018, but the contract never materialized due to the US CAATSA law that provides for automatic sanctions when a country concludes a “significant transaction” with the Russian arms industry.
Jakarta is also negotiating the purchase of about thirty US F-15 fighter jets and is involved in a research and development project with South Korea for the KF-21 fighter jet.
“According to the current contract, the Rafales are to be delivered in January 2026, while the F-15s are still under discussion,” the Indonesian Ministry of Defense notes in its press release.
Source: BFM TV
