TSAMTO, December 7. French armed forces Minister Florence PARLY said in a TV interview on December 3 that negotiations with Indonesia on the purchase of 36 Rafale fighters from Dassault are at an advanced stage, although the contract has not yet been signed.
According to the Reuters news Agency with reference to the Minister, if this order is implemented, 500 French companies will be involved in its implementation within 18 months (a total of 7,000 jobs).
The Agency recalls that Indonesia has been negotiating for a long time to purchase new fighters. Earlier it was reported that deals were signed for the Russian su-35S and the American F-16V Viper, but none of the contracts came into force. As the Nikkei Asian Review reported on November 12, Indonesian defense Minister Prabowo Subianto spent more than two weeks in October meeting with potential suppliers in the United States, Austria, France and Turkey.
The La Tribune newspaper also reported on December 3 that p.Subianto met with Florence PARLY on October 21 and once again confirmed his interest in Rafale fighters. Sources told the newspaper that " the Indonesians want to act very quickly and would even like to reach an agreement before the end of the year, while the French negotiators requested additional time to finalize the agreement more thoroughly." F. PARLY and P. Subianto spoke again by phone on November 26.
La Tribune recalls that at the beginning of the year, on January 13, a conversation took place between the two Ministers, which was called "extremely fruitful". During the conversation, p. Subianto expressed interest in purchasing 48 Rafale fighters, up to four scorpen submarines and two Govind corvettes. To date, Indonesia has scaled back its plans and is considering purchasing fewer French weapons.
