Indonesia to order 18 new Rafale fighter jets in a $2.3 billion deal

Asia-Pacific, Europe, News April 29, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Indonesia is set to finalize the $2.3 billion deal with French company Dassault Aviation to acquire 18 new Rafale fighter jets. The deal is part of a wider agreement in which Indonesia would buy 42 Rafale jets from France.

Jakarta is on a path to modernize its aging air force fleet with multi-billion-dollar orders for advanced fighter jets. Jakarta narrowed its choices down to the Rafale and the U.S.-made Boeing F-15EX last year. Indonesia is acquiring 36 F-14 fighter jets from the U.S.

During the first phase of the deal, Indonesia received six jets in September 2022 in a deal that cost around $1.1 billion. Indonesia has pledged $8.1 billion to buy the fleet of 42 Rafale jets. Rafale jets would replace Indonesia’s fleet of F-5 supersonic light fighter aircraft from Northrop Grumman.

It is expected that the latest $3.2 billion deal will be finalized during the Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto’s visit to France in the coming weeks. After completing the deal, Indonesia would move on to purchase 18 more fighter jets in the third and final phase of procurement.

Demand for the twin-engine fighter jet has increased substantially in recent years. Despite tough competition with American and other European manufacturers, Rafale has made significant breakthroughs in the international market.

Indonesia became one of the several international customers for the French-made Rafale jets in 2022. Around the same time, France also finalized a deal with Croatia for 12 Rafale fighters and the United Arab Emirates closed a deal with France to purchase 80 jets.

*^{French Air Force Rafales fitted with Mica missiles during the Opération Harmattan. (Image Credit: Dassault Aviation)}*

Egypt is also among the countries that have increased the use of Rafale jets in its air force fleet, while India, Qatar, Greece, Serbia, and Colombia are also negotiating terms to buy the new models of the Rafale fighter jets. Under the increased demand, Dassault Aviation has tripled the annual production of its Rafale aircraft.

Rafale Fighter Jet

Rafale is a twin-engine combat fighter jet designed to support naval and aerial operations. It features an array of high-performance laser warning receiver, missile warning systems, detection systems, and jammers.

Rafale can carry AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, ASRAAM and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, Apache missiles, and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Its state-of-the-art cockpit is equipped with a wide-angle holographic display that provides pilots with aircraft control data, mission data, and firing cues. It also has an RBE2 passive electronically scanned radar from Thales to track up to eight targets simultaneously.