Indonesia Buys 24 F-15EX Fighter Planes, Signs MoU With Boeing Witnessed By Prabowo

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (right) witnessed the signing of the MoU for the purchase of 24 units of Boeing's F-15EX fighter aircraft at The Boeing Company, Missouri, USA, Monday 21 August. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government and The Boeing Company have agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to purchase 24 units of 4.5 F-15EX generation fighter aircraft. The MoU was signed when representatives from two parties met at the Boeing Company Office in St. Louis, Missouri, United States (US).

The Minister of Defense (Menhan) Prabowo Subianto, who witnessed the signing of the MoU, informed his Instagram account @prabowo which was narrated by the Ministry of Defense.

"We are pleased to announce an important F-15EX fighter procurement agreement for Indonesia," Prabowo said after the signing of the MoU, Jakarta, Tuesday, August 22, was confiscated by Antara.

During the event, Prabowo toured the Boeing hangar to see the production of the F-15. He also took the time to get on the fighter plane and take pictures.

The MoU document was signed by the Head of the Defense Facilities Agency of the Ministry of Defense, Young Marshal TNI Yusuf Jauhari and Deputy President Director and Program Manager of Boeing Fighters Mark Spears.

Mark Spears, in the company's official broadcast, said that Boeing, which is a partner of the US Government, is ready to help countries in the world, including Indonesia, to maintain security and maintain peace, one of which is through the production of high-tech fighter aircraft.

"We have built expertise for years to develop F-15EX capabilities. No other fighter aircraft such as the F-15 in the world and this (MoU) runway will put Indonesia at the highest peak of air control capabilities," said Mark Spears.

F-15EX is the most up-to-date version of the F-15 that Boeing has ever made. The latest Boeing fighter aircraft is equipped with various features, including fly-by-wire digital flight control, electronic warfare systems, digital glass cockpits, as well as the latest mission system and software capabilities.

Boeing, in its official broadcast, said that the system will further improve its sophistication for Indonesian order fighter aircraft codenamed F-15ID.

Indonesia bought F-15 fighter aircraft from Boeing through a foreign military sales (FMS) scheme, whose procurement process requires permission from the United States Government.

The US Defense and Security Cooperation Agency (DCSA), which is under the US Department of Defense, in its official broadcast on February 10, 2022, said the Indonesian government proposed the purchase of 36 units of F-15 made by Boeing along with supporting tools and infrastructure whose value is estimated at 13.9 billion US dollars or around Rp. 213.05 trillion.

However, the US Government has only allowed the purchase of 24 units of F-15 out of a total of 36 aircraft proposed by the Government of Indonesia.