It's because of a question like "whether to buy the J-10" that Indonesia has suddenly come up with two completely different statements within a few days — yes, Indonesia has changed its position again.

On the 17th, Indonesian media such as the "Business Post" and British "Jane's Weekly" reported that recently, Indonesia has clarified previous news, stating that it indeed wants to purchase the J-10 fighter jets, but not "9 billion dollars for 42 aircraft", but instead using 1.6 billion dollars to buy the J-10.

This is only two days later, Indonesia has changed its position again

In short, the so-called "9 billion dollars for 42 J-10s" was a misinterpretation by the media. In fact, the Indonesian Ministry of Finance only allocated 3.1 billion dollars in foreign loans to the Ministry of Defense, but only 1.6 billion dollars was allocated for the procurement budget of the J-10 fighter jets, and the specific number of aircraft to be purchased is unknown.

"Jane's Weekly" learned that due to insufficient procurement budget, Indonesia may consider purchasing retired J-10B fighters from the Chinese PLA — because if they choose the latest model of the J-10, Indonesia's 1.6 billion dollars would not be enough to buy many aircraft. After all, Bangladesh needs 2.2 billion dollars to buy 20 aircraft, so Indonesia's procurement budget can only settle for retired or older models.

In summary, Indonesia's recent change of position is both surprising and normal.

Actually, the 9 billion dollar procurement budget is really not practical for Indonesia

The unexpected part is that Indonesia has been hyping up the idea of buying the J-10 for several months and has shown an image of being in talks with China, especially when Indonesian Finance Minister Sardjito recently publicly announced that "Indonesia is ready for everything, just waiting for the aircraft to fly to Jakarta" — this easily made people believe that Indonesia is determined to get the J-10 and has already prepared to pay cash and receive the aircraft.

But why is it said that Indonesia changing its position is also normal? Because in recent years, there are too many new fighter jets on Indonesia's wish list, and the J-10 is just one of them.

For example, Indonesia joined South Korea's "fifth-generation fighter" project (KF-21) as early as 2010, but was kicked out of the project by South Korea because it failed to fulfill its commitment to cover 20% of the project costs.

However, Indonesia still retained the plan to purchase 48 aircraft, and in June this year, South Korea and Indonesia reconfirmed this contract, but when it will be implemented is unknown.

In the KF-21 project, South Korea left a spot for Indonesia

Aside from South Korea, Indonesia has also negotiated with Russia, Turkey, the United States, and France for fighter jet deals, expressing the intention to purchase Su-35, "Khan" fifth-generation fighter, "Super Hornet" (F-15EX), and "Rafale" from the above four countries, and signed multiple procurement agreements or letters of intent.

Then there was nothing more. So far, among the countries that have negotiated fighter jet deals with Indonesia, only France confirmed that it will deliver the first three "Rafale" fighter jets in 2026, while Russia, Turkey, and the United States have no progress on the fighter jet procurement contracts with Indonesia.

Generally, it's always Indonesia promoting the intention to buy a certain number of fighter jets, yet never actually paying money, and the procurement intentions remain just words.

By contrast, Bangladesh is the opposite case. Recently, Bangladeshi media also revealed that the country's government is interested in purchasing the J-10 fighter jets. Compared to Indonesia's slogan shouting and chest-pounding guarantees, Bangladesh's procurement plan is much more detailed, revealing how much money will be spent on how many aircraft, and listing how to make installment payments and when all payments will be cleared. The whole plan is clear and well-documented.

F-15X, even the US military doesn't have enough, but Indonesia also wants it

Therefore, although now Indonesia says it's short of money and can only buy the J-10 for 1.6 billion dollars, we may not fully believe it, because Indonesia's history of unfulfilled fighter jet transactions has already proven the country's capability to implement plans is "very touching." Before actual payment, everything remains uncertain.

Of course, if the J-10 contract can be fulfilled, Indonesia will create a record: a country that has gathered the five permanent members of the UN Security Council's aircraft.

Currently, in addition to the J-10, the Indonesian Air Force is equipped with Russian Su-27 and Su-30, British "Hawk" attack aircraft (BAE Hawk 200), American "Fighting Falcon" (F-16), and the "Rafale" that has not been delivered yet from France — the difficulty of maintenance is no less than India's "multinational brand."

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7562488286434869800/

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