The Indonesian Defense Ministry has signed a contract to buy 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets from Qatar, Indonesian news website Kompas reported yesterday, citing the head of the Defense Ministry’s Public Relations Office.
The cost of the purchase is $734.5 million and is financed through foreign loans approved by the finance minister, Kompas added, citing other Defense Ministry officials. Qatar bought them from France in 1997, and they are the oldest of their kind.
The purchase of these used aircraft is intended to meet the temporary operational needs of the Indonesian Air Force until the Jakarta-bought Rafale fighter jet enters service. This is an exception to repeated statements by Indonesian President Joko Widodo that the country would not purchase used weapons systems. Three of the six Rafale aircraft are scheduled to arrive in January 2026.
Questions have been raised about the middlemen involved in this sale, which reportedly include unnamed middlemen and a Czech arms contractor. The French government must have necessarily approved the sale, but no information has yet emerged about the deal in this regard.
Earlier, Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo, on the sidelines of the KSAU Award ceremony on May 31, said that the Mirage 2000 was the choice to fill the void for the Indonesian Air Force fighter jet. The arrival of the new aircraft is expected to be completed in the next five years. “The (defense) minister has a plan to fill this gap,” Fadjar said.
Several foreign news sites have previously reported this news with news sources outside of Indonesia, Kompas notes. An Israeli news site on June 12, for example, stated that the 12 Mirage jets were in the process of being delivered to Indonesia, but the Indonesian Air Force Information Service said it could not confirm the report. “The decision rests with the Ministry of Defense,” he clarified.
The ministry said the contract includes the aircraft and engines, spare parts, support services, training for pilots and technicians, infrastructure and weaponry.
The Indonesian Air Force currently operates a mix of fighter jets from various countries, such as the US-made Northrop F-5 Tiger and F-16, the Russian-made Sukhoi SU-27/30 and the British-made Hawk 100/. . 200.
Defense-Aerospace
