DPR Will Ask Prabowo To Reveal Detailed Budget For The Purchase Of 42 Warplanes

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto/DOK ANTARA

JAKARTA - Commission I of the House of Representatives will ask Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto to detail the budget related to the planned purchase of 42 Rafale fighter jets in a deal of 8.1 billion US dollars or equivalent to Rp. 116,217,990,000,000.

Member of the House of Representatives Commission I Dave Akbarshah Fikarno said that Defense Minister Prabowo had briefly explained about the purchase of aircraft during a presentation at the last working meeting.

"Where do you buy planes, ships, fighter jets, whether Rafale or from America. Most of what we have, if not Sukhoi, F-15, F-16, or Skyhawk. So if F-16 pilots already exist, training facilities it's there, the ground support is complete, so it's just a matter of continuing," said Dave when contacted by VOI, Friday, February 11.

However, the Golkar politician thinks that Prabowo must take into account the budget spent if he wants to continue buying new fighter planes. Moreover, Indonesia is planning to build a new capital city with a fantastic budget.

"We must also look at the operational costs, how many thousand dollars per flight per hour. It means that everything has to be new, pilot training, supporting units, whether there is a ToT or not," said Dave.

"So it must be taken into consideration before making a decision and also adjusting it to our state's finances. If you want to build a new capital city, it will cost you hundreds of trillions," he continued.

In addition, Indonesia also still has to rise from the economic downturn during the pandemic. Moreover, the current case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is crawling up.

"We have just come out of the pandemic crisis, this is all that must be calculated before deciding which one to buy. Don't let it just because of the speed of the plane we don't think long. Because later our children and grandchildren will bear the burden, because this is definitely a loan system that can be up to 20 years," said Dave.

Therefore, Dave said, Commission I of the DPR will question in detail Prabowo's intentions in purchasing this fighter at the next joint working meeting.

"On the occasion of the meeting with the Defense Minister, we asked his policy, what the calculations were like and how long-term it was. Because if we buy goods from a country, there must be political considerations and not just economics," said Dave.

Previously, the US State Department had approved the potential sale of F-15ID aircraft and related equipment to Indonesia in a deal worth up to $13.9 billion, or about Rp. 199.435.81 billion, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said Indonesia plans to buy 42 Rafale fighter jets in a deal of 8.1 billion US dollars, equivalent to 116.217.990 billion, as part of a series of agreements that also include submarine development.

Quoting Reuters on February 11, Indonesia is said to be trying to improve the capabilities of its air fleet, which currently includes US F-16 fighter jets and the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets.

In the future, Boeing is the prime contractor for the F-15 jets, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a release. The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale on Thursday.

The Pentagon said the package would include 36 jets, spare engines, radar, night vision goggles training and technical support.

Although approved by the State Department, the notification does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded.

VOI confirmed about this news, Spokesman for the Minister of Defense Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak could not speak much.

"Sorry I haven't been able to respond," he answered briefly via text message Friday, February 11th.