According to a statement received from the Ministry of Defense in Jakarta on Tuesday, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto personally witnessed the signing process of the MoU between the representatives of both parties on Monday (August 21).
"It is a pleasure to announce that we have reached an agreement on the procurement of F-15EX fighter jets that will be vital for Indonesia," Minister Subianto remarked after the MoU-signing ceremony.
On the occasion, the minister had the opportunity to tour Boeing's hangar to see the production process of F-15 jets and board one of the aircraft.
The MoU was inked by Defense Ministry's Head of the Defense Facilities Agency Air Vice Marshal Yusuf Jauhari and Boeing's Vice President Director and Boeing Fighters Program Manager Mark Sears.
In an official release of Boeing, Sears stated that his company, as a partner to the US government, is ready to help countries across the globe, including Indonesia, in the efforts to maintain security and preserve peace by producing fighter jets equipped with advanced technology.
“We have invested years of expertise into developing the F-15EX capabilities. There is no other fighter like the F-15 in the world, and this platform will put Indonesia at the top of air dominance capabilities,” he noted.
The F-15EX is the most advanced version of F-15 jets that Boeing has ever built. The F-15EX fighter jets are equipped with various advanced features, such as digital fly-by-wire flight controls, a new electronic warfare system, digital glass cockpit, and the latest mission systems software capabilities.
Furthermore, the company remarked that the mission systems will be further developed for the 24 fighter jets ordered by Indonesia that are codenamed F-15ID.
Indonesia has ordered Boeing's F-15 fighter jets under the foreign military sales (FMS) scheme that requires authorization from the US government to execute.
In a statement released in February last year, the US' Defense Cooperation Security Agency reported that the Indonesian government had requested to procure up to 35 Boeing F-15 aircraft and various supporting equipment and infrastructure, with an estimated total cost of US$13.9 billion.
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Translator: Genta T, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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