(Corrects the number of jets expected to arrive later this year in paragraph 5)
By Ananda Teresia
JAKARTA, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Indonesia has received three Rafale fighter jets from France in the first deliveries from a multi-billion-dollar defence deal between the two countries, a defence ministry official told Reuters on Monday, marking a major upgrade to the country’s ageing military hardware.
Jakarta, France’s main arms client in Southeast Asia, has placed orders for as many as 42 Rafales, built by Dassault Aviation, as well as French frigates and submarines, as the archipelago steps up defence spending under President Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces commander.
“The aircraft have been handed over and are ready for use by the Indonesian Air Force,” Defence Ministry spokesperson Rico Ricardo Sirait said in a message in response to a Reuters query – the first confirmation that Indonesia has possession of the advanced military aircraft after striking an $8 billion deal with France in 2022 and expanding it last year.
Sirait said the three aircraft arrived on Friday and were stationed at Roesmin Nurjadin Air Base in Pekanbaru, located on the western island of Sumatra.
More jets are expected to arrive later this year, he added without elaborating how many.
Indonesia has been one of the biggest players on the international fighter jet market as it looks to upgrade its aircraft, setting aside big budgets for defence spending.
It has been considering a number of options alongside the Rafales, including China’s J-10 fighter jets and U.S.-made F-15EX jets. For the longer term, it has also signed a contract to buy 48 KAAN fighter jets from Turkey, a fifth-generation aircraft powered by General Electric F-110 engines that are also used in fourth-generation Lockheed Martin F-16 jets.
Reuters also reported that Indonesia and Pakistan discussed a potential deal earlier this month for Jakarta to buy combat jets and killer drones.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy and Gibran Peshimam; Editing by David Stanway and Kate Mayberry)
