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View all search resultsSolo flight, first flight mark procurement of Indonesian Rafale jet fighters
The Indonesian Air Force will receive its first batch of three Dassault Rafale jet fighters in February or March 2026, which will be deployed at the 12th Squadron "Black Panther" at Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force Base in Pekanbaru.
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An Indonesian Air Force pilot poses after conducting his first solo flight out of Saint-Dizier - Robinson Air Force Base in northeastern France in this undated picture released on Sept. 26. Four Indonesian pilots conducted their solo flights in stages through Sept. 19. (Courtesy of Indonesian Air Force/-)
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ndonesia recorded two important milestones in its procurement of Dassault Rafale jet fighters from France with four of its pilots took to the sky in solo flights and the maiden flight of the first aircraft from 42 on order.
The Indonesian Air Force pilots are training as part of the pilot training batch 1 with the French Air and Space Force’ Rafale Transition Squadron 3/4 Aquitane at the 113 Saint-Dizier–Robinson Air Force Base in northeastern France.
The first batch is led by Lt. Col. Binggi Nobel, who is currently the training operation section head at the Supadio AFB in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. Three other pilots are Eri Nasrul Mahlidar, Arie Praestyo and Yusuf Atmaraga, who all hold the ranks of major.
All four pilots successfully conducted their solo flight in stages through Sept. 19, the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) said on its official website tni-au.mil.id on Sept. 25.
Other than pilots, the Indonesian Air Force also sends 12 of its technicians to take the organizational level of maintenance (OLM) technical training. The technicians are studying various general and specialization materials according to their fields of vector, avionics and armament.
Meanwhile, the first jet fighter from Indonesian order, a dual-seat Rafale B with tail number T-0301 made its maiden flight at Dassault’s final assembly and flight test location in Merignac, near the city of Bordeaux, theaviationist.com reported on Sept. 20. The online publication said that the first flight was confirmed by images that appeared online on Sept. 19 evening on Facebook by photographer Swiderek Maciejka.
Previously, Maciejka also photographed the aircraft while taxiing at Merignac’s runway on Sept. 16.
