JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia has ditched a controversial plan to purchase 733 million euros ($790 million) price of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets beforehand utilized by Qatar, the defence ministry spokesperson mentioned late on Saturday.
“There isn’t any buy of Mirage jets. Despite the fact that it was deliberate, it has been cancelled … which means there isn’t any energetic contract,” spokesperson Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak mentioned in an announcement, however didn’t elaborate.
Final month, the ministry mentioned the deal to buy the 12 fighter jets was delayed on account of fiscal constraints and that the navy would order a retrofit for its current Sukhoi and F-16 plane as an alternative.
The deliberate buy garnered controversy when it was introduced final yr, as lawmakers mentioned the secondhand jets had been previous.
Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, the frontrunner to win Indonesia’s presidential election on Feb. 14, has been criticised concerning the deal by rival candidates throughout campaigning.
However he defended the acquisition throughout one of many presidential debates, saying the secondhand jets had been nonetheless good for an additional 15 years and had been wanted whereas the nation waits for its new jets to reach.
Prabowo has overseen the navy’s efforts to modernise its ageing fleet, which embody purchases of Rafale fighter jets, drones from Turkish Aerospace and fighter jets and transport helicopters from U.S. corporations Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
($1 = 0.9275 euros)
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo)
