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French jet fighters in town to woo Defense Ministry, Air Force
Two Dessault Rafale jet fighters from the French Air Force are in Jakarta to seduce Indonesia into purchasing the multirole jets to replace the Indonesian Air Force's ageing American-made Northrop F-5 Tiger E/F II jet fighters
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wo Dessault Rafale jet fighters from the French Air Force are in Jakarta to seduce Indonesia into purchasing the multirole jets to replace the Indonesian Air Force's ageing American-made Northrop F-5 Tiger E/F II jet fighters.
'The jets flew directly to Indonesia after attending the 2015 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace [LIMA] exhibition in Malaysia,' Air Force chief spokesman Air Commodore Hadi Tjahjanto told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The visiting jet fighters arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma airport on Monday. On Tuesday, the jet fighters, a Rafale B double-seater and a Rafale C single-seater, performed solo demos for officials from the Defense Ministry and Air Force officers.
The two jet fighters were accompanied by an Airbus A400M heavy transport aircraft and a KC-135 tanker aircraft.
Rafale, made by French aerospace firm Dassault Aviation, came to Jakarta as the French airframer was aware that Indonesia is planning to replace its fleet of F-5 E/F.
'Rafale jets will demo their abilities for Indonesian pilots and Air Force officers until Thursday,' Hadi said.
The French jet fighter is entering a tough competition, locking horns with a stable of other contenders including the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-35, American-made F-16 Block 60, Swedish-made Saab JAS-39 Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon, a collaboration between Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
The Air Force has repeatedly said it prefers the Su-35, the latest iteration of the Flanker family of jet fighters, although the final decision will be made by the Defense Ministry.
'Any jet fighter is ok for the Air Force, as long as the jet fighters can meet our requirement, which is that they come from the 4.5 Generation,' Hadi said. (nvn)(+++)
