BANGKOK (RIA Novosti): Indonesia is forced to abandon the purchase of multipurpose Su-35 fighters from Russia for budgetary reasons, Chief Air Force Chief Marshal Fajar Prasetio told reporters.
“As for the (aircraft) Sukhoi-35, with a heavy heart we have to abandon these plans,” he said. His words are quoted by the Indonesian news portal Kompas.
The government is considering purchasing French Rafale fighters and American Boeing F-15 EXs instead.
“From the very beginning it was said that in increasing our capabilities in the air we rely on the budget. and everything is likely to change to Rafale, “added the chief of staff of the Indonesian Air Force.
According to him, many countries are thinking about purchasing French fighters, which have gained popularity recently, with a “strong” financial package for a deal to acquire them.
The Kompas portal reminds that information about the probable plans of the Indonesian Air Force for the acquisition of 35 Rafale aircraft and 15 F-15 EX aircraft appeared for the first time last year.
At the same time, Russian representatives stated that they were ready to supply Indonesia with 4 ++ generation Su-35 multipurpose fighters, despite pressure from some states. As the official representative of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Valeria Reshetnikova said at the time, the project to supply Jakarta with 11 aircraft from the very beginning attracted close attention of the world community. According to her, Jakarta was strongly “recommended” to abandon the project.
Bloomberg News reported last year that the US “strongly encouraged” Indonesia to end its acquisitions of Chinese-made Russian warplanes and warships. This happened as part of Washington’s global efforts aimed at “countering the undermining of American military superiority by the main opponents of the United States.” At the same time, an unnamed source in the Indonesian Defense Ministry told the newspaper that the country intends to abandon plans to acquire the Su-35 from Russia, Kompas recalls.
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