KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. The Indonesian government has delayed a plan to purchase 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets previously used by Qatar, due to limited fiscal capacity, a spokesperson for the defence minister said. Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak made the comments in a panel interview with broadcaster TV One earlier this week, saying the delay was decided by the defence and finance ministries.
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Baca Juga: Indonesia's State Power Company Uses 1 Mln Tons of Biomass in 2023 The secondhand jets were set to be delivered within 24 months after the deal was signed. They were intended to be used while Indonesia waits for the arrival of some of the 42 Rafale fighter jets that Jakarta had bought in 2022 for $8.1 billion. The plan to buy the Mirage planes has been criticised by some lawmakers because the jets were considered old. The decision to delay the Mirage purchase came despite President Joko Widodo's approval of a 20% increase in defence spending to the end of 2024 to upgrade military hardware to $25 billion. Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, the frontrunner for presidential elections due in February, has overseen the military's efforts to modernise its ageing fleet, which include purchases of 12 new drones from Turkish Aerospace and fighter jets and transport helicopters from U.S. companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Editor: Yudho Winarto
