Indonesia looks to French industry to supply new fighter jets, attack submarines

STUTTGART, Germany — The Indonesian and French defense ministries agreed on two major equipment contracts that will bring Dassault fighter jets and Naval Group attack submarines into Jakarta’s air force and navy.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly announced Thursday Indonesia had ordered up to 42 new Rafale jets for its air force, becoming the seventh export nation to commit to the Dassault Aviation-made aircraft. The announcement comes as the minister concludes a visit with officials in Jakarta, and follows two years of discussions and months of negotiations.

“France is proud to contribute to the modernization of the armed forces of our partner, who plays a key role in ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] and in the Indo-Pacific,” Parly said in a statement on Twitter.

Later on Thursday, the U.S. government announced it also had approved a possible sale of up to 36 F-15ID fighters and related equipment to Indonesia.

The French contract, which includes an initial six jets and a commitment to procure 36 more, is worth $8.1 billion, according to reporting by Reuters . The deal includes aircrew training, logistical support for several Indonesian air bases, and a training center with two full-mission simulators, per a Dassault statement. The jets will be produced in Dassault’s French facilities. French companies Thales and Safran Aircraft Engines also help to build the aircraft.

Three countries decided in 2021 to add the Rafale to their rosters. In January 2021, Greece announced its plans to acquire 18 jets , including six new aircraft and 12 secondhand models. In late November, Croatia chose to procure 12 secondhand aircraft; just a couple of weeks later the United Arab Emirates ordered 80 Rafale jets . Egypt, Qatar and India also operate the Dassault fighter jet.

The two meaty Rafale deals with the UAE and Indonesia come at a notable time, as a long-awaited industry agreement for the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program seems stalled. The top industry contractors for the program are Dassault, representing France, along with Germany’s Airbus and Spain’s Indra.

Spanish industry officials said in November that the contract was in the final stages of fine-tuning. Observers noted at the end of the year that the UAE contract for Rafale jets could strengthen Dassault’s hand in the ongoing FCAS negotiations regarding the development of the next-generation fighter jet.

The potential U.S. fighter sale to Indonesia, which could be worth $13.9 billion, would also include up to 87 General Electric or Pratt & Whitney F110 engines, including 15 spares, as well as multiple other radars, targeting pods, weapons and other equipment. Boeing in St. Louis, Missouri, would be the principal contractor on the sale.

The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Thursday about that possible sale.

This is not the first time in recent months the State Department has approved a weapons purchase for a nation that had already struck a similar deal with France. In December 2021, State approved two potential deals with Greece for frigate construction and modernization in its Hellenic Navy. That announcement came after a September deal France had struck with Greece, worth about $3.4 billion, to sell three frigates from France’s naval group, with an option for a fourth ship later.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Navy could eventually take ownership of two Scorpène-class, diesel-electric attack submarines. Officials from the France-based Naval Group – which co-developed the submarine with Spain’s Navantia – and Jakarta’s state-owned ship manufacturer PT PAL signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday to build the boats in Indonesia under a technology transfer agreement. A formal contract has not yet been signed, a Naval Group spokesperson told Defense News.

The deal comes months after the news broke that Australia would pull out of a AUS$90 billion contract for Naval Group-built submarines, to instead join the United States and United Kingdom in a defense technology-sharing agreement that would include nuclear-powered attack submarines. French government and industry leaders were reportedly blindsided by the new “AUKUS” trinational partnership.

Vivienne Machi is a reporter based in Stuttgart, Germany, contributing to Defense News' European coverage. She previously reported for National Defense Magazine, Defense Daily, Via Satellite, Foreign Policy and the Dayton Daily News. She was named the Defence Media Awards' best young defense journalist in 2020.

德国斯图加特——印尼和法国国防部就两项重大装备合同达成一致，将为雅加达空军和海军引进达索战斗机和法国海军集团攻击型潜艇。

法国国防部长弗洛朗丝·帕利周四宣布，印度尼西亚已订购至多42架新型“阵风”战斗机，成为第七个订购达索航空公司制造的这款战机的国家。帕利部长刚刚结束对雅加达官员的访问，此前双方已就此进行了两年的磋商和数月的谈判。

帕利在推特上发表声明称：“法国很荣幸能为我们伙伴国的武装部队现代化做出贡献，该伙伴国在东盟和印太地区发挥着关键作用。”

周四晚些时候，美国政府宣布，已批准向印度尼西亚出售多达 36 架 F-15ID 战斗机及相关设备。

据路透社报道，这份价值81亿美元的法国合同包括首批6架战机，并承诺再采购36架。达索公司在一份声明中表示，该合同还包括机组人员培训、为印尼多个空军基地提供后勤支持，以及一个配备两台全任务模拟器的训练中心。这些战机将在达索公司位于法国的工厂生产。法国泰雷兹公司和赛峰飞机发动机公司也参与了飞机的制造。

2021年，三个国家决定将“阵风”战斗机纳入其机队。2021年1月，希腊宣布计划采购18架“阵风”战斗机，其中包括6架新机和12架二手机。同年11月下旬，克罗地亚选择采购12架二手机；仅仅几周后，阿联酋就订购了80架“阵风”战斗机。埃及、卡塔尔和印度也装备了这款达索战斗机。

与阿联酋和印度尼西亚达成的两笔数额可观的“阵风”战斗机交易正值关键时刻，因为备受期待的法德西未来作战空中系统（FCAS）项目行业协议似乎陷入僵局。该项目的主要承包商包括代表法国的达索公司、德国的空客公司和西班牙的英德拉公司。

西班牙业内人士11月表示，该合同已进入最终敲定阶段。观察人士在年底指出，阿联酋购买“阵风”战斗机的合同可能会增强达索公司在正在进行的下一代战斗机未来作战系统（FCAS）谈判中的筹码。

美国可能向印尼出售价值139亿美元的战斗机，这笔交易还将包括至多87台通用电气或普惠公司的F110发动机（含15台备用发动机），以及其他多种雷达、瞄准吊舱、武器和设备。位于密苏里州圣路易斯的波音公司将是此次军售的主要承包商。

美国国防安全合作局周四向国会通报了这笔可能的军售。

这并非近几个月来美国国务院首次批准向一个此前已与法国达成类似协议的国家购买武器。2021年12月，国务院批准了与希腊的两项潜在协议，涉及希腊海军护卫舰的建造和现代化改造。此前，法国于9月与希腊达成一项价值约34亿美元的协议，向希腊出售三艘法国海军集团的护卫舰，并保留日后购买第四艘的选择权。

与此同时，印尼海军最终可能拥有两艘鲉鱼级柴电攻击潜艇。法国海军集团（与西班牙纳凡蒂亚公司联合研发该型潜艇）和雅加达国有造船企业PT PAL的官员周四签署了一份谅解备忘录，根据技术转让协议在印尼建造这些潜艇。海军集团发言人告诉《防务新闻》，正式合同尚未签署。

就在几个月前，澳大利亚宣布将退出价值900亿澳元的法国海军集团潜艇采购合同，转而加入美国和英国的国防技术共享协议，该协议将涵盖核动力攻击潜艇。据报道，法国政府和业界领袖对这项名为“AUKUS”的三国合作计划感到措手不及。

薇薇安·马奇是驻德国斯图加特的一名记者，主要负责《防务新闻》的欧洲报道。她此前曾为《国家防务杂志》、《防务日报》、《卫星通讯》、《外交政策》和《代顿每日新闻》撰稿。2020年，她荣获防务媒体奖最佳青年防务记者称号。