SINGAPORE—Payment for the second batch of 18 Dassault Rafale fighters for the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) has been made, Dassault Aviation has confirmed in an announcement, clearing the way for their manufacture.
This brings the total confirmed aircraft for the Southeast Asian country to 24, adding to the six aircraft that were paid for in September 2022.
Indonesia signed a contract for a total of 42 Rafales with the French government in February 2022, which included a “turnkey solution” as well as a “substantial” offset program for the local industry.
In April 2022, a Safran delegation—led by Managing Director for Offset and Industrial Cooperation Andrea Bianchini—visited Indonesian aerospace prime PT Pindad and discussed the potential local assembly of the AASM “Hammer” air-to-ground modular weapon.
The French Air and Space Force has been consistently engaging the TNI-AU with the Rafales and the Airbus A330 MRTT capabilities in recent years. Force-projection exercises Mission Pegase 2022 and 2023 included Indonesia as a stop in which the TNI-AU received training with the Rafales as well as air-to-air refueling training with the TNI-AU F-16s.
Indonesia has a requirement for tankers under its Minimum Essential Force modernization project.
As a stop-gap measure to bolster its fighter fleet, Indonesia will take in a dozen secondhand Mirage 2000s from Qatar for $792 million. Indonesia is currently in negotiations with the United Arab Emirates for more.
The U.S. also is pitching its Boeing F-15EX, designated as F-15ID, although the program appears to have lost traction in recent months.
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