Indonesia has confirmed plans to acquire 42 Chengdu J-10C multirole fighter jets from China under a $9 billion deal, marking the country’s first major non-Western aircraft purchase. With this deal, Indonesia becomes the third operator of the J-10 after China and Pakistan, strengthening its position in the region’s shifting air-power balance.
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa announced the $9 billion allocation, saying “everything should be ready,” with only delivery confirmation pending from Beijing. Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin also said that the Chinese-made planes will soon be "flying over Jakarta's skies." This showed that the government was ready to put the new fleet to use as part of its larger plan to modernise the military.
The J-10C has a 4.5-generation capability that will replace Indonesia's old F-16A/B and Su-27SK fighters. It has an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, PL-15 beyond-visual-range missiles, and WS-10B Taihang engines.
Jakarta is still following a policy of buying a wide range of goods while strengthening its defence-industrial relations with Beijing. Indonesia is still in discussions for the Boeing F-15EX while still pressing forward with its purchase of the Dassault Rafale. This shows that the country wants to keep its operational flexibility and technical variety.
At the same time, Indonesia's growing interest in Türkiye's KAAN next-generation fighter program shows that it wants to work with more than just its usual suppliers. This is in line with its strategy to balance partnerships with China, France, Türkiye, and the Republic of Korea while dealing with the growing geopolitical rivalry between Washington and Beijing in the Indo-Pacific.
Author: Özgür Ekşi
