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ANKARA: Indonesia is keen to participate in the joint development of Turkiye’s fifth-generation fighter jet, President Prabowo Subianto said after meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday (Apr 10).
Turkiye is the second leg of Prabowo’s Middle East tour after the United Arab Emirates, where he met its leader Mohammed Zayed Al Nahyan.
“Indonesia wants to participate in the development of the Kaan fifth-generation fighter jet and submarine development with the Turkish industry,” Prabowo said on Thursday without elaborating, as reported by Indonesian news agency Antara.
Erdogan did not not comment specifically on the fighter jets, but said both leaders had “reviewed ongoing projects and new cooperation opportunities including joint production in the defence industry”, Jakarta Globe reported.
The stealth twin-engine fighter Kaan, developed by the state-owned arms manufacturer Turkish Aerospace Industries since 2010, is designed to replace Turkiye’s F-16s and will be its first indigenous fighter jet. British aerospace firm BAE Systems is a subcontractor in the project.
Kaan’s maiden and second flights were completed in 2024 and it is set to enter production soon, with deliveries to the Turkish Air Force expected by 2028 or 2029, Antara reported.
Other countries that have either expressed interest in Kaan’s development or to purchase the aircraft include the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
In his statement on Thursday, Prabowo also announced, without elaborating, that Indonesia and Turkiye have agreed to establish a joint-venture defence company.
He is in Turkiye at Erdogan’s invitation after the latter visited Indonesia in February.
When Prabowo was defence minister under his predecessor Joko Widodo, he made several deals with countries such as France to acquire military equipment to overhaul Indonesia’s decades-old equipment.
Indonesia has bought 42 Rafale fighter jets from France for US$8.1 billion – six of which are set to be delivered next year – a European Airbus A400M transport aircraft and 12 new drones from Turkish Aerospace worth US$300 million.
Indonesia also committed in 2023 to buying 24 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing and 24 transport helicopters from Lockheed Martin in the United States, both for undisclosed sums.
According to the Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, Indonesia has four submarines in its fleet – the older Cakra-class submarine and the Nagapasa-class vessels.
In March last year, France’s Naval Group and Indonesia’s state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL signed a contract for the delivery of two Scorpene submarines to be built in Indonesia.
Turkiye has seen success with its Reis-class submarines and commissioned the first of six planned vessels last year. The Reis-class submarines have air-independent propulsion systems, which allow non-nuclear submarines to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen.
Prabowo is scheduled to visit Egypt on Friday, followed by stops in Qatar and Jordan, according to Antara.
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