The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Indonesia of F-15ID (F-15EX) Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $13.9 billion. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of an important regional partner that is a force for political stability, and economic progress in the Asia-Pacific region. It is vital to U.S. national interest to assist Indonesia in developing and maintaining a strong and effective self-defense capability. The proposed sale will improve Indonesia’s capability to meet current and future threats by enabling it to provide increased deterrence and air defense coverage across a very complex air and maritime domain. Indonesia will have no difficulty absorbing these aircraft and equipment into its armed forces. The principal contractor will be The Boeing Company, St. Louis, MO. Indonesia typically requests offsets. Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations between Indonesia and Boeing.
The Government of Indonesia has requested to buy up to thirty-six (36) F-15ID aircraft; eighty-seven (87) F110-GE-129 or F100-PW-229 engines (72 installed, 15 spares); forty-five (45) AN/APG-82(v)1 Advanced Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radars (36 installed, 9 spares); forty-five (45) AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability Systems (EPAWSS) (36 installed, 9 spares); forty-eight (48) Advanced Display Core Processor (ADCP) II digital computers (36 installed, 12 spares); eighty (80) Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS) (72 installed, 8 spares); ninety-two (92) Embedded Global Positioning Systems (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (EGI) security devices; forty (40) AN/AAQ-13 LANTIRN navigation pods (36 installed, 4 spares); forty (40) AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATP) (36 installed, 4 spares); one hundred fifty-six (156) LAU-128 launchers (144 installed, 12 spares); and forty (40) M61A “Vulcan” gun systems (36 installed, 4 spares). Also included are Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) (P5 CTS) training pods and support equipment; MS-110 Recce Pods; AN/ASG-34 Infrared Search and Track International; AN/ALE-47 counter-measures dispenser; AN/PYQ Simple Key Loaders; additional precision navigation, secure communications and cryptographic equipment; Electronic Combat International Security Assistance Program (ECISAP) support; Joint Mission Planning Systems (JMPS); Night Vision Goggles (NVG) and support equipment and spares.
Earlier in the day, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said the country was planing on buying 42 Rafale fighter jets in a $8.1 billion deal as part of a series of agreements also including submarine development. Indonesia has been seeking to overhaul its ageing air fleet for a while, which up until today includes U.S.-made F-16 and Russian Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30 jets. Media reports have said Indonesia wanted to buy more than 70 jets from France and the United States. Indonesia is moving to upgrade its ageing airforce fleet with multi-billion dollar orders for advanced fighters jets from France and the United States, amid increasing tension in the South China Sea. Indonesia would choose between either the F-15EXs or Rafale, although once they hinted at the possibility of a mixed buy of 36 Rafales and eight F-15EXs. Indonesia has fully abandoned any hope of ordering the Sukhoi Su-35. The threat of sanctions under the US government’s Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) apparently caused Jakarta to scuttle this long-desired fighter deal.
TheIndonesian Air Force’s newest F-15EX variant will be called the F-15ID. The F-15EX is a ready-now replacement for the F-15C that includes best-in-class payload, range and speed. Designed to deliver value to the U.S. Air Force, the F-15EX will be a backbone fighter for the service – not just today, but for the next several decades. It features a deep magazine that can carry a load of advanced weapons. The platform also requires minimal transitional training or additional manpower and little to no infrastructure changes, ensuring the continuation of the mission. The most significant difference between the F-15EX and legacy F-15s lies in its Open Mission Systems (OMS) architecture. The OMS architecture will enable the rapid insertion of the latest aircraft technologies. The F-15EX will also have fly-by-wire flight controls, a new electronic warfare system, advanced cockpit systems, and the latest mission systems and software capabilities available for legacy F-15s.