As Southeast Asia’s largest economy works to modernize its fleet, Indonesia and US aircraft manufacturer Boeing have reached an agreement for the sale of twenty F-15EX fighter jets, Jakarta’s defense minister announced on Tuesday.
At Boeing’s St. Louis factory on Monday, Indonesian air force and corporate representatives signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing to the sale in front of Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.
“MoU signing commitment to purchase 24 F-15EX Fighter Aircraft Units,” Subianto wrote on Instagram under an image of him witnessing the deal’s signing.
Boeing said in a statement Monday the deal would “put Indonesia at the top of air dominance capabilities”.
The F-15EX is the most advanced version of the fighter jet and the F-15 is only used by more than half a dozen countries globally.
Jakarta currently owns US-made F-16 jets and ageing Russian Sukhoi jets. Last year it agreed to buy 42 French-made Rafale fighter jets in an $8.1 billion deal.
The latest F-15 sale — of which neither side has disclosed the value — is still subject to US government approval.
It comes after Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin visited Jakarta in November for negotiations over the deal.
Austin expressed his optimism that the transaction would go through because it would improve Jakarta’s F-16 fleet’s interoperability with American forces.
The United States and Indonesia conducted joint military exercises in large numbers last year as Washington and its allies expressed rising worry over China’s growing aggressiveness in the Pacific.
The “Super Garuda Shield” exercise in Indonesia was conducted after Beijing held unprecedented war drills near Taiwan, which it claims is a part of its sovereignty.
Forces from Australia, Singapore, and Japan, which took part in the maneuvers for the first time, joined at least 4,000 American and Indonesian soldiers for the two-week exercise.
Washington said that the exercises were not targeted against any specific nation.
