Jokowi Will Ask Sri Mulyani About Arrears In Financing The KFX Fighter Aircraft Project

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) gave information after the inauguration of the Cisumdawu Toll Road in Sumedang Regency, West Java, Tuesday (11/7/2023). (ANTARA/Gilang Galiartha)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will ask Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati about the status of the KFX/IFX KF-21 Boramae fighter aircraft project, where Indonesia is said to still have a financing obligation to South Korean partners.

"Regarding KFX, I will ask the Minister of Finance where his status is," said President Jokowi after the inauguration of the Cisumdawu Toll Road in Sumedang Regency, West Java, as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, July 11.

Jokowi said that during a meeting with Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto at the Jakarta Presidential Palace, Monday (10/7) afternoon, there was no discussion regarding the status of the KFX project.

"Regarding defense issues only, but it doesn't discuss KFX either, it doesn't talk about it, it's about KFX," he said.

Jokowi received Prabowo Subianto on Monday (10/7) afternoon at the Jakarta Presidential Palace. At the meeting, the Minister of Defense admitted that he reported to the President about the development of the national defense industry, cooperation with partner countries, and the development of geopolitical problems. The cooperation project of the KFX fighter aircraft is a collaboration between the Governments of Indonesia and South Korea. The two countries are working together to develop 4.5 generation fighter aircraft whose capabilities are believed to approach the world's leading stealth aircraft today.

The results of the collaboration between KFX/IFX (Korea Fighter Xperiment/Indonesia Fighter Xperiment) are named KF-21 Boramae. In this long-term cooperation, the South Korean government funded 60 percent of the fighter development project, while the Indonesian government was 20 percent, and the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) was 20 percent.

Prabowo on July 6, 2023 confirmed that he would resolve in the near future the issue of Indonesia's arrears in the KFX cooperation project.

"I think this will be finished in the near future because this is a decision from the President," Prabowo said.

The development of the KF-21 Boramae is currently in the engineering and manufacturing development (EDM) stage, which is expected to last until 2026. After that, the fighter jet will enter the mass production stage. The development of the KFX/IFX fighter aircraft project has a legal basis in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 136/2014 concerning the IF-X Fighter Aircraft Development Program. Article 23 of the Presidential Regulation regulates the issue of funding, namely the financing of the fighter aircraft project is borne by the state budget in accordance with the country's financial capabilities.