Prabowo Subianto, Minister of Defense was asked by retired Major General TB Hasanuddin, Member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) to stop purchasing 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets worth EUR 733 million (IDR 11.8 trillion) from Qatar.

Prabowo signed a contract with Excalibur

Previously, Prabowo signed a sale and purchase contract on January 31, 2023, to purchase a dozen Mirage fighter aircraft with Excalibur, a defense company from Czechia. The aircraft will be delivered within 24 months after the contract becomes effective.

The procurement deal includes nine single-seat aircraft, and three twin-seat aircraft. It also includes, 14 engine and T-cell units, technical publications, GSE, spare parts, test benches, A/C delivery, FF & insurance, three years of service support, training for pilots, technicians and infrastructure, as well as weapons.

This purchased aircraft is planned to be placed at Air Squadron 1 Supadio Airfield, Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

Hasanuddin criticized the Mirage purchase

Hasanuddin questioned the urgency regarding the purchase of used fighter aircraft from the Qatar Air Force (QAF) by the Ministry of Defence.

He suggested to buy Mirage 2000-9 aircraft owned by the United Arab Emirates, which are for sale and are newer compared to the Mirage 2000-5 owned by Qatar.

"What conditions are urgent that we have to buy an old plane," said Hasanuddin on July 4, 2023.

Refused grant, bought secondhand

On the other hand, the aircraft that the Ministry will buy from Qatar is an aircraft of the same type which was offered as grants back in 2009 but was rejected by the Ministry of Defense at that time.

This means that the Ministry intends to buy planes that were previously offered free of charge from Qatar in 2009. Back then, the ministry argued that the maintenance costs of the airplane would be very expensive.

Hasanuddin echoed the Ministry's reason for rejection, highlighting that cost for the maintenance of the aircraft and spare parts will be a problem in addition to the remaining lifespan of the aircraft.

He added that Prabowo's purchase of used aircraft is in contrary to President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's order.

"President Jokowi himself has a policy so that the purchase of TNI defense equipment is prioritized from domestic defense industry companies and instructed the ranks of the Ministry of Defense not to buy obsolete defense equipment," he said.

Hasanuddin suggested that the Ministry should wait for the Rafale multifunctional fighter from France to be delivered and added that the contract with Excalibur should be cancelled.

"A total of 42 new Rafale fighter aircraft will arrive in 3 to 5 years, gradually. My advice is to just wait for the Rafale, because even buying a used Mirage 2000-5 has to wait for 2 years," he added.