The Indonesian Air Force will no longer receive 12 second-hand Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighters, the Asian country’s Defense Ministry said.
According to a report from Flight Global, the Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto, who is the favorite candidate to win the presidential elections taking place this week, reportedly abandoned the plan after criticism.
Indonesia announced in January 2023 that it had signed a contract to acquire the 12 fighter jets that previously flew in the Qatar Air Force.
The negotiation was brokered by the Czech company Excalibur International, which would receive 733 million euros for the agreement.
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Now, the Indonesian government claims that there was no signed contract and that it has decided not to proceed with the acquisition.
Qatar’s Mirage 2000-5s are considered well preserved as the country has invested in newer, more capable aircraft such as the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing F-15QA.
Multiple fighters in view
The Indonesian government’s change of direction comes amid a series of plans to reinforce the air force, which has F-16 and Su-27 fighters as well as Hawk 209 light attack aircraft.
Recently, the Indonesian Air Force approved the third batch of Rafale fighters, out of an order for 42 aircraft from Dassault. The country is also seeking to approve the acquisition of 24 F-15 fighters.
At the same time, there is also participation in the development program of the South Korean KF-21 Boramae fighter, from Korea Aerospace Industries.
However, Indonesia has been delaying funding for the project as reports emerge that the country’s engineers have attempted to steal confidential information from the program.
