After Greece, Croatia and a giant contract for the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia is about to join the list of countries that have Rafales.
The country has signed a contract for six of these fighter jets, in an expected total order of 42, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto announced Thursday (February 10th).
"We have agreed to purchase 42 Rafales", with "a contract signed on Thursday for the first six", he said after a meeting with his French counterpart Florence Parly in Jakarta.
Southeast Asia's largest country has never previously acquired French fighter jets, but is seeking to diversify its alliances and military equipment suppliers in the face of rising Asia-Pacific tensions between the China and the United States.
>> Armaments: nothing can stop the French Rafale?
Towards greater cooperation between France and Indonesia
France, for its part, is seeking to strengthen ties with Indonesia after seeing its strategy for asserting itself in the Asia-Pacific shaken last year by the sudden termination, by Australia, of a mega-contract of purchase of French submarines and the formation of the Aukus alliance between that country, the United States and the United Kingdom.
"Indonesia's choice is one of sovereignty and technical excellence, with an aircraft that has demonstrated its operational capabilities on many occasions," Florence Parly told reporters.
Indonesia has aging equipment – mainly American F-16s and Russian Su-27 and Su-30 Sukhoi – and is in negotiations with multiple partners to renew its combat aircraft.
Especially since a contract that Indonesia had signed in 2018 for the purchase of eleven Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia never materialized, due to the American Caatsa law which provides for sanctions. automatically when a country enters into a "significant transaction" with the Russian arms industry.
The French and Indonesian defense ministers had signed a defense cooperation agreement in 2021 in Paris and negotiations on the acquisition of Rafale had been underway for several months on financing and compensation.
Jakarta is negotiating in parallel the purchase of about thirty American F-15 fighter planes, according to the media, and is participating in a research and development project with South Korea for the KF-21 fighter plane.
Dassault had a banner year in 2021 with 18 aircraft sold to Greece (including 12 second-hand), 30 to Egypt and 12 second-hand to Croatia, and a record order of 80 aircraft for the United Arab Emirates.
With AFP
The summary of the
France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 app
google-play-badge_FR