Government reviews plan to purchase 24 Rafale fighter jets

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Defence (Kemhan) has confirmed that the option to purchase 24 Rafale fighter jets from France remains under review.

This was stated by the Head of the Defence Information Bureau (Karo Infohan) of the Secretariat General of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence, Brigadier General TNI Rico Ricardo Sirait, when confirmed by ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday regarding the plan to buy 24 Rafale fighter jets.

“The option for additional purchases is still under review by the government,” Rico said.

Rico explained that the review is being conducted to ensure the purchase aligns with Indonesia’s defence requirements.

To that end, Rico confirmed that as of now, there is no new contract between the Indonesian Government and France regarding the addition of 24 Rafales.

As is known, Indonesia and France are reportedly considering a transaction option for 24 Rafale fighter jets. Based on information posted by the Instagram account dedicated to defence information @isds.indonesia, it was explained that the discussion of this option arose during a meeting between President Prabowo Subianto and French President Emmanuel Macron some time ago.

Indonesia already possesses three Rafale aircraft, resulting from a contract to purchase 42 jets that was signed by Prabowo Subianto when he was still serving as Minister of Defence.

The 42 aircraft will arrive in stages, beginning with the first batch of three fighter jets in early 2026.