Indonesia buys 12 Mirage fighter jets used by Qatar for $792 million

Indonesia's Defense Ministry on June 15 confirmed a $792 million purchase of 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets used by Qatar, citing an urgent need amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.

The ministry said the purchase contract was signed earlier this year with Excalibur International, a unit of Czech defense company Czechoslovak Group, for delivery in two years, Nikkei Asia reports.

The Mirage aircraft, manufactured by French company Dassault Aviation, were previously used by the Qatari Air Force.

The Indonesian Defense Ministry decided to make the purchase because the first three out of six Rafale jets it agreed to buy from France last year will only be delivered in January 2026. Those planes are also manufactured by Dassault.

In the meantime, negotiations continue on the details of a planned purchase of F-15 fighters from the U.S., which agreed to sell them to Indonesia shortly after the Rafale deal.

Explaining the flurry of moves to acquire jets, the ministry said that many aging aircraft in the Indonesian Air Force have entered retirement, while a number of others need to be upgraded, overhauled or repaired.

"Indonesia needs fighter jets that can be delivered quickly to offset the Indonesian Air Force's declining combat readiness," it said.

The ministry did not mention the age of the used Mirage 2000-5 jets. The model is an upgraded version of the Mirage 2000 originally designed in the 1970s.

The jets will be stationed at Supadio Airbase in West Kalimantan province, the ministry said. It is close to Indonesia's Natuna islands on the southern edge of the South China Sea.

There have been a growing number of incidents in recent years involving Indonesian and Chinese vessels in waters off Natuna, amid China's growing assertiveness in the disputed sea also claimed by several Southeast Asian nations.