Jakarta signs a contract for the acquisition of 42 French combat aircraft, in order to initiate the modernization of its fleet. The command also includes a pilot training and logistical support component.
This is a historic breakthrough in a country that had never bought French combat aircraft: Indonesia chose the Rafale in order to start modernizing its combat aircraft, made up of American F16s and Soukhoï 27s and 30 aging russians. An order for 42 aircraft was signed Thursday between Air Vice Marshal Yusuf Jauhari, head of the acquisition agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, and Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation *, the manufacturer of the Rafale, in the framework of a ceremony organized in Jakarta, in the presence of Prabowo Subianto, the Indonesian Minister of Defence, and his French counterpart Florence Parly.
This new success of the Rafale, the seventh internationally since 2015, marked by the very first contract with Egypt, was greeted with enthusiasm. “42 Burst! Indonesia chooses French industrial excellence! », welcomes Emmanuel Macron on Twitter. “Indonesia’s choice is one of sovereignty and technological excellence, with an aircraft that has demonstrated its operational capabilities many times over,” reacts on her side Florence Parly. For Eric Trappier, “It’s a great success for the France team. It is a new country for Dassault Aviation, which makes it a historic contract”..
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Unaligned position
With the 42 Indonesian aircraft, the Rafale now has 255 international orders, to which must be added 24 recent second-hand aircraft purchased by Croatia and Greece. This represents an export rate approaching 60%. In seven years, the Rafale did better than the Mirage 2000, which had reached a rate of 50% in twenty years. By counting the orders placed by the French forces, the Rafale is very close to crossing the milestone of 500 copies, with 471 aircraft sold to date.
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France has a long-standing relationship with Indonesia, a friendly country to which it has been selling military equipment for years. But with the contracts signed on Thursday, the archipelago becomes the first customer of the French defense industry in South Asia, ahead of Singapore. After India, this is also the second Rafale contract signed in the Indo-Pacific region, where tensions are increasing, particularly in the China Sea. After the Australian setback in the submarines in September 2021, “The sale of the Rafale and the cooperation signed in submarines give credibility to the French strategy in the Indo-Pacific. These contracts firmly link France to a region where it has 2 million nationals and 9 million square kilometers of exclusive economic zones,” we insist at the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
Indonesia, the largest country in Southeast Asia, which maintains its non-aligned position in the face of Sino-American rivalry, has decided to enhance its military capabilities by increasing its defense budget to 1.5% of its GDP against 0.8% in 2020. Interested in the Rafale, the country closely followed the steps taken by India as soon as the latter made the choice of the French plane, in 2016. “Indonesia saw that we kept our commitments, that deliveries were made on schedule,” says Eric Trappier. The file entered an active phase in August 2020 with the establishment of cooperation between Paris and Jakarta in strategic equipment. Last June, the bilateral relationship was framed by the signing of a strategic defense cooperation agreement. The France team accelerated to achieve this historic contract.
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“I thank the Indonesian authorities for the trust placed in us. This contract marks the beginning of a long-term partnership (…). I am certain that the Rafale will be able to meet the operational needs of the Indonesian air force”, says the CEO of Dassault Aviation. “Combat proven” in many theaters of operations in Africa, the Sahel and the Levant, the Rafale will participate in the sovereignty and operational independence of Indonesia, byconsolidating its role as a major regional power” in the Indo-Pacific region. The Hôtel de Brienne specifies that “in value, the amount of the order, aircraft and armaments included, amounts to 8.1 billion dollars”. “France will contribute to the financial package, Bpifrance is at the maneuver”, adds the ministry. The entry into force of the contract will be gradual, with a first phase relating to 6 Rafales to the F3R standard, currently in service with the French forces. A second batch of 36 Rafale will follow at the same standard. Once this step is completed, “during 2022”, according to the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the first deliveries are expected three years later. Or by 2025.
Logistics support
The contract also includes a training and training component for pilots by the French Air Force and Dassault teams in Mérignac, near Bordeaux, as well as the delivery of two mission simulators and logistical support to Indonesian air bases.
As is often the case, Indonesia negotiated local industrial quid pro quos. They “will represent 85% of the valuation of the order”, specifies the CEO of Dassault Aviation. The latter has signed a first cooperation agreement, covering around ten projects, with the local aeronautical group PPTDI. Safran, the engine manufacturer of the Rafale, and Thales, its electronics engineer, must also establish local agreements.
(* The Dassault group owns theFigaro)
Agreements in submarines and satellites
With the contract signed for 42 Rafale, Jakarta becomes the 1er customer of the French defense industry, ahead of Singapore, in Southeast Asia. Over the past ten years, Indonesia has ordered, on average, 167 million euros per year of French military equipment, according to data from the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Already equipped with helicopters supplied by Airbus, the country is planning other acquisitions, in particular two Scorpene-class attack submarines. But before placing an order, the two countries will cooperate. An agreement, which provides for the creation of a common R&D center, was initialed yesterday between Pierre Éric Pommellet, CEO of Naval Group, European leader in military naval, and his counterpart at PT PAL, Indonesian naval leader. Thales, for its part, signed a partnership agreement in satellites with PT LEN, while Nexter, the specialist in armor and land equipment, concluded a cooperation in ammunition with PT Pindad.
In November 2021, Indonesia ordered two A400M military transport aircraft from Airbus and signed a letter of intent for four additional aircraft.