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RI now in talks with UAE to get more Mirage jets
The ministry is now in talks to procure Dassault Mirage 2000-9 jets from Abu Dhabi after sealing a deal with Qatar earlier this week for 12 used Mirage 2000-5 jets.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (left) and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (center) speak on March 8, 2023 with a pilot of a newly delivered Hercules C-130 at Halim Perdanakusumah Air Base. (The Jakarta Post/BAI/Agus Suparto)
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efense Minister Prabowo Subianto said on Thursday that his team was currently in negotiations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to procure several Dassault Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets following the government's decision to acquire an older version of the aircraft from Qatar.
Prabowo told reporters in Bandung, West Java, that if the deal with Abu Dhabi went through, the Indonesian Air Force would be able to quickly rejuvenate its aging fleet.
"We're currently negotiating with the UAE. They also have Mirage 2000-9 [jets]. I hope the negotiation will be smooth and we can soon acquire them within the next five years before the brand-new jets arrive," the minister said.
Earlier this week, the Defense Ministry confirmed it had procured 12 used Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets from Qatar. It added that the nearly US$800 million deal was a fast way to upgrade the Air Force and would come with three years of support services and pilot training.
The ministry did not mention the age of the jets.
According to Forbes, the UAE is expected to “replace its fleet of Mirage 2000-9s when it takes delivery of the 80 cutting-edge Rafale F4s it ordered from France last year later in this decade”.
The magazine added, “Abu Dhabi currently has at least 56 of these Mirages."
