The Indonesian government confirmed this week that it had struck a deal to buy 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets (Dassault Aviation), formerly used by Qatar’s air force, for more than €700 million, defending the decision. , despite the criticisms of parliamentarians, who protest because the specific type of jet is characterized as obsolete.

The Ministry of Defense in Jakarta explained that it had signed a €733m deal with Excalibur International, a subsidiary of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), in January, specifying that the French-made aircraft, nine single-seaters and three two-seaters, would be delivered within 24 months of her signature.

The deal was only revealed on Wednesday by Indonesian media, which published strong criticism of it from parliamentarians.

“What was the urgency that prompted us to go buy old and used aircraft?” MP Tubagus Hasanuddin demanded to know, according to Kompas newspaper.

The first Mirage 2000s entered service in the 1980s, according to manufacturer Dassault’s website. The Indonesian Ministry of Defense did not specify the age of the aircraft of the type it bought. He said that the agreement includes three years of technical support in their maintenance and operator training.

“Indonesia is in need of fighters that can be delivered quickly to replenish the combat capability of its Air Force fleet,” according to Defense Ministry spokesman Edwin Adrian Sumada.

The Indonesian armed forces are planning to reorganize their fleet, which has an unusually wide variety of types — from American F-16s to Russian Su-27s and Su-30s.

The plan to replace aging F-5 Tigers with Su-35s has run into US sanctions on Russia, the defense ministry explained, adding that further plans to modernize the fleet are in place but will take some time to materialize.

Indonesia had announced its plan to buy 11 Su-35 fighter jets in 2017, which it intended to pay for in cash and kind.

Besides, Jakarta closed a deal to buy 42 Rafale (Dassault) fighter jets for $8.1 billion in February. At the same time, talks on the F-15 purchase from the US are at an advanced stage and a definitive green light is expected from the government, Defense Minister Prabovo Subianto said last year.