Why France, Why Rafale
With France being part of NATO and among the holders of the veto power at the UN Security Council, the crystallization of cooperation with France will certainly affect Indonesia's international diplomacy.
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In order to modernize the primary weapons system (Alutsista), the government is going to procure 42 of the latest fighter jet, the Rafale twin engine lightweight fighter jet from France.
Indonesia’s initial purchase earlier this year of six generation 4.5 Rafale twin engine lightweight fighter jets made by fighter aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation is a crystallization of Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto's long diplomacy following the signing of a defense cooperation agreement in mid-2021.
The contract for the purchase of this fighter aircraft was officially signed on 10 Feb. 2022 at the Defense Ministry when Defense Minister Prabowo met French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly. The contract value for the purchase of six aircraft and their support systems is US$1.1 billion (Rp 116 trillion).
The purchase of 42 Rafale fighter jets is part of the ministry’s long-term program to strengthen the Air Force's defense equipment, considering that this aircraft is a multifunctional fighter jet type, which can be used for air-to-air or air-to-ground operations. It is the largest purchase of fighter jets ever made by the Indonesian government. A display of enhanced strength of the main defense weaponry system is undeniably a barometer of a country's defense strength. That’s why the modernization of defense equipment has become Indonesia’s specific defense policy.
Timing and technology transfer
From the aspect of budget efficiency, the purchase of primary weapons equipment was carried out at the right time because the price offer was quite rational, and this was due to the persistence of defense diplomacy from the Defense Ministry team, directly led by Defense Minister Prabowo.
Regarding the aspect of defense strategy, it must be understood that the procurement of this fighter aircraft is a subsystem of air defense, which is a subsystem of the national defense system. Therefore, the effectiveness of its use will greatly depend on the perspective of the air defense system.
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In other words, air defense design must be an ecosystem that appropriately combines the degree of air defense forces, including air base infrastructure, radar systems and so on. This is inseparable from the fact that infrastructure development is a major consequence for Indonesia when it decides to purchase for the first time this type of French-made fighter jet.
As part of the cooperation, the Defense Ministry and France have also designed a strategy that combines three core instruments in this degree of strength: software, hardware and human resources. The strategic design that has been formulated by the ministry includes the signing of a number of memorandums of understanding (MoU) between strategic state-owned enterprises (BUMNIS) in the defense sector and their French partners.
One of the BUMNIS is PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), which signed an MoU with Dassault Aviation in the Offset and Technology Transfer (ToT) Program. This MoU signing has confirmed PTDI's direct involvement in the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) process, all to be prepared by building infrastructure in Indonesia. This MRO process has been implemented in previous programs for French aircraft in Indonesia, including the Caracal helicopter.
(FILES) This file photo taken on June 5, 2021 shows crew members standing next to a Rafale jet fighter on the deck of the French aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle, off the coast of Toulon. - Indonesia on February 10, 2022 ordered 42 Rafale fighter jets from France, as Paris and Jakarta seek to strengthen miliary ties in the facing of growing tensions in the Asia-Pacific.
The MoU signing is certainly a great opportunity for the empowerment of PTDI as a domestic aircraft manufacturer, because the entry of cutting-edge technology in collaboration with French Dassault Aviation also opens up opportunities for the absorption of Indonesian technicians. It is hoped that this will lead to PTDI's self-sustainability in the future in producing fighter jets of this kind.
The development of human resources in support for the ecosystem is crucial because the purchase of fighter aircraft from one particular country as a producer will have an impact on the application and operational scheme of ground support equipment, calibration laboratories, as well as the tactics and strategies that are unique to each aircraft. In addition to building installations, the development of human resources in charge of control, maintenance and the ground support system in general has become one of the main considerations. This means that defense cooperation with France will also have a major impact on education and training scheme.
This scheme is of course possible because it is part of the offset mechanism agreed with France. The target of this offset mechanism is to produce more technicians and instructors who understand the platform of a fighter jet like the Rafale. The Defense Ministry hopes that strategic cooperation in the defense sector with France will open up new opportunities for Indonesia in the development of anti-air missile and radar systems.
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This also applies on the other signed agreements, including the one in which PT Pindad and Nexter Munition agreed to manufacture ammunition for ground weapons and large-caliber ammunition. France is known as a producer of anti-ship missile Exocet, one of which is the MM40 Block-3 type with a launch range of up to 180 kilometers. This missile is part of the Navy's defense equipment. In addition, the Indonesian Army also uses the Caesar 155 cannon produced by PT Nexter.
The Indonesia-France cooperation has also had a positive impact on state-owned electronics maker PT LEN Industri and sea dockyard PT PAL. PT LEN has a strategic collaboration with partner Thales Group regarding the development of an integrated navigation system for mid-life modernization (MLM). The MoU between PT PAL and Naval Group is a cooperation in the framework of the government's plan to purchase two Scorpene AM2000-class submarines, complete with the required weapons and spare parts. The purchase of the Scorpene is currently in the negotiation process.
The sought MoU will cover the establishment of a research and development center that opens up opportunities for the involvement of private companies in Indonesia engaged in supporting the components of the shipping defense system.
In addition to the cooperation related to the modernization of the primary weapons system, several other defense agreements include the exchange of officers in the military education program.
Friends in global arena
Indonesia's relations with France have not experienced many ups and downs, with the former having for long become the user of the latter’s several types of defense equipment, especially for the production of tanks. Among those are the AMX 13 light tank, designed by Atelier de Construction d'Issy les Moulineaux (AMX) and produced by the Groupement des Industries de l'ArmÉe de Terre (GIAT Industries). In 1968, Indonesia also purchased the AMX 10 tank to strengthen the Indonesian Navy's Marine Corps. The Indonesian Navy has also operated three French-made research vessels, one of which is Baruna Jaya 2.
In their peace mission under the UN Security Council flag in Lebanon, National Military (TNI) troops also operated on a French-made armored vehicle, the Vehicule I'Avant Blinde (VAB) 4x4, produced by the French Renault Truck. With France being part of NATO and among the holders of the veto power at the UN Security Council, the crystallization of cooperation with France will certainly affect Indonesia's international diplomacy, which adopts the principle of non-aligned movement. France certainly sees us as friends in the global political arena.
M Herindra
M. Herindra, Deputy Defense Minister
This article was translated by Musthofid
