April 22, 2026 | 05:48 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sugiono said that defense cooperation with France does not only revolve around the purchase of main weapon systems (alutsista). According to the minister, the cooperation also includes technology transfer.
The purchase of defense equipment is one of the results of President Prabowo Subianto's visit to France last week. "We know that we have obtained or bought quite strategic defense equipment from France. And this also implies that we must be able to enhance our technology mastery over these things," said Sugiono at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta, Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
The minister explained that the government is expanding defense cooperation beyond the procurement of main weapon systems. "We are not only limited to making purchases, but also to technology transfer and mastery of technology from the items we bought," said Sugiono.
Meanwhile, Sugiono stated that procuring main weapon systems is a long-running process that has been ongoing since Prabowo served as Minister of Defense under President Joko Widodo.
"This is always reminded by the President, that the so-called main weapon systems cannot be bought like shopping at a supermarket. Whenever we need or want them, that's not possible," said Sugiono.
He gave an example of the procurement of Rafale fighter jets produced by Dassault Aviation. Sugiono said that the procurement of the fighter aircraft takes years from the time of ordering to the actual delivery to Indonesia. "How many years did we order it? It was about four years ago until the rolling, like that. So the process is lengthy," said Sugiono.
The purchase of the Dassault Rafale fighter jets is one of the five new defense collaborations agreed upon between the Minister of the Armed Forces of the French Republic Florence Parly and Prabowo, who was still the Minister of Defense at that time, on Thursday, February 10, 2022.
The agreement was then realized for the first time with the delivery of three Rafale fighter jets on January 27, 2026. The arrival of the Rafale added to the Indonesian Air Force's fleet of fighter jets, which previously consisted of T-80, Hawk 100/200, Sukhoi Su-30, and F-16.
On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, President Prabowo visited the lyse Palace in Paris, France, for a tete-a-tete meeting with President Emmanuel Macron.
In their meeting, Prabowo and Macron discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in various sectors. "Including the procurement of main weapon systems and the reinforcement of the defense industry, energy transition and the development of new renewable energy, infrastructure and transportation, as well as education and the creative economy," as stated in the caption on the @presidenrepublikindonesia Instagram account.
However, Prabowo and the Ministry of Defense have not disclosed the types of defense equipment purchased by Indonesia from France or the values of the respective agreements.
Read: Prabowo Summons Defense Advisor to Jakarta Palace
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