On October 15, Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadhewa announced to the press that the acquisition of 42 Chinese Chengdu J-10 fighters is planned.
The acquisition would cost approximately $9 billion, a competitive price compared to the $8 billion anticipated for the acquisition of 24 Boeing F-15EX - a project initiated by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Boeing in 2023.
The F-15EX acquisition remains subject to US export approval - assuming it remains part of Indonesia's plans - and the purchase of Chinese armaments could seriously jeopardize that approval.
For the J-10, this would mark the second export order (following Pakistan) and the first in the crucial Southeast Asia region. Deliveries are expected to begin soon. Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has publicly assured that the Chinese jets will be flying over Indonesia "shortly," although it remains unclear whether the contract has actually been signed.
Furthermore, Indonesia is still "searching" for the funds to support the purchase, seeking government-to-government (G2G) loans, bilateral credit mechanisms, and/or private loans.
It is also not entirely clear which "mark" (variant) of the J-10 is involved. Some sources indicate the more modern J-10C (or more accurately the CE export variant, like those supplied to Pakistan), while others suggest it may be the older J-10B model.
The acquisition would reportedly include an armaments package, likely featuring the PL-15 long-range air-to-air missile (AAM), which played a key role in the Pakistan-India clashes in recent months.
From a logistical standpoint, this acquisition stands to make the Indonesian Air Force's inventory even more "chaotic." The force already has 42 French Dassault Rafales on order, while operating 30 F-16s, a small fleet of Russian-origin Su-27/30 FLANKERs, and BAE HAWK 200 trainers/light attack aircraft. Furthermore, Indonesia has purchased about 20 KAI T-50s from South Korea and is a development partner (we recall) in the KF-21 BORAMAE program with Seoul. Finally, Jakarta recently announced it will also acquire 48 Turkish TAI KAAN fighters.
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