Indonesia has acquired 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighters, which were previously in service with Qatar. The deal is valued at $792 million.
It is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Reuters .
The defense ministry said in a statement that in January Indonesia signed a deal with Excalibur International, a division of the Czech defense company Czechoslovak Group (CSG). The aircraft will be delivered to Indonesia within the next 24 months.
It is reported that Indonesia will buy nine single and three double aircraft. According to the website of the manufacturer Dassault Aviation, the first model was released in 1967. The Ministry of Defense of the country refused to report the age of the aircraft. According to the contract, the cost of the machines includes a three-year service and a pilot training program.
“Indonesia needs fighter jets that can be delivered quickly to compensate for the declining alertness of the Indonesian Air Force fleet,” Defense Ministry spokesman Edwin Adrian Sumanta said.
The country has long sought to upgrade its air force, which is armed with American F-16 aircraft, as well as Russian Su-27 and Su-30.
Plans to replace F-5 Tigers with Su-35s have been thwarted by US sanctions on Russia. Earlier, Indonesia announced its intention to buy 11 Su-35 aircraft from Russia. In February, the country closed a deal to acquire 42 Rafale fighter jets worth $8.1 billion. The planned purchase of F-15 fighter jets is also under government approval.
Reports on the transfer of Mirage 2000 fighters to Ukraine
Recall that earlier in the media there was information that Ukrainian pilots were allegedly being trained on the Mirage 2000 in France. Later, the speaker of the Air Force, Yuri Ignat, denied such data .
Also, soon the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov explained why the Mirage 2000 fighters do not meet several important characteristics that Ukraine considers a priority.
Source : РБК-Україна