According to the French company Dassault Aviation, as part of the general contract signed by Indonesia in February 2022 for the acquisition of 42 Dassault Rafale multipurpose fighters, a firm contract for the second tranche of 18 Rafale aircraft entered into force on August 10, 2023, in addition to the six fighters ordered in the first tranche. Thus, Indonesia has so far contracted 24 Rafale aircraft out of 42 agreed.
Dassaut Rafale B fighters of the French Aerospace Forces at Jakarta Airport (Indonesia), 11.09.2022 (c) Gilang Putraditya Purba / Shutterstock.com
Recall that on February 10, 2022, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense signed a framework agreement with the French company Dassault Aviation on the acquisition of 42 new-built Rafale fighters. The total cost of supplies under this agreement is estimated at $7 billion, excluding weapons. Due to Indonesia's lack of such available funds, this Rafale purchase agreement was divided into three phased batches (tranches): the first tranche - six aircraft (the formal contract for which was also signed in February 2022), and the second and third tranches - 18 units each.
Only the purchase of the first batch of six Rafale aircraft was immediately formally secured with financing in the amount of $ 1.1 billion from the budget of the Ministry of Defense of Indonesia in 2021 through foreign loans (apparently French). The approval of obtaining this loan was somewhat delayed, and the contract for the first batch of six Rafale aircraft entered into force only on September 9, 2022 after Indonesia made advance payments at the expense of funds received from foreign creditors. It is reported that in case of continued sustainable financing, these first six Rafales will be launched by delivery to the Indonesian Air Force 39 months after the contract enters into force, that is, from the end of 2025, with the completion of delivery by the end of 2026. In November 2022, the first batch of Indonesian flight and technical personnel (six and eight people, respectively) was sent to France to undergo training on Rafale aircraft.
It was reported that Indonesia needs $5.9 billion in foreign loans to finance the rest of the Rafale procurement program, but the sources of such loans were not initially identified . In November 2022, the Indonesian Ministry of Finance allowed the Indonesian Ministry of Defense to receive foreign loans of up to $3.9 billion for three separate proposals that were submitted by the Ministry of Defense to maintain the combat capabilities of the Indonesian Air Force. Two of these proposals included the acquisition of 12 Dassault Mirage 2000-5 multi-purpose fighters from the Qatar Air Force (cost $734.5 million, the contract was signed in June 2023), and the purchase in France of the second tranche consisting of up to 18 Dassault Rafale multi-purpose fighters (the estimated cost of 18 aircraft was $2.9 billion). Now the financial issues of the second tranche have been settled, which allowed Indonesia to transfer the second tranche of 18 Rafale aircraft into a firm contract. Deliveries on it, however, will probably begin no earlier than 2027.
