Between 2023 and 2028, Indonesia's defense spending is likely to grow from US$8.8 billion to US$9.7 billion, demonstrating Indonesia's ambitions and investments in the field of defense. Indonesia is in the stage of upgrading defense equipment and plans to purchase 42 RafaleFighters, 24 F-15IDNsFightersAs well as 2 A-400M transport aircraft and other modern equipment. Indonesia will prioritize upgrading its air capabilities, but upgrading its ground equipment remains a relatively low priority. However, the rapid growth of the defense budget has led to a shortage of funds for a number of cooperative projects.
In addition, Indonesia officially announced the list of candidates for the 2024 year, and launched the election of the new leader. In this context, Indonesia continues with South Koreakf-21The possibility of cooperation in the project is reduced.
South Korea and Indonesia signed in 2009kf-21Fighter joint research and development agreement, South Korea ** 60% investment, South KoreaAerospaceIndustrial Corporation (KAI) and Indonesia** each own 20%. According to the established plan, 120 aircraft will be completed by 2032kf-21production, Indonesia will be inkf-21The development project is apportioned to about 12 trillion won. However, Indonesia** has been unpaid for the project for a long time, and by the end of 2022, only 278.3 billion won had been disbursed, and the remaining 991.1 billion won remained unpaid. Indonesia also purchased other fighter jets during this period, which raised suspicions in South Korea.
Still, Indonesia's state-owned aircraft maker PTDIRGANTARAINDONESIA (PTDI) said it would not pull outkf-21Project. In their view, the reason for the arrears was due to:Intellectual Property, agreements, and market rights need to be renegotiated.
South Korea** has issued an ultimatum asking Indonesia** to come up with a clear, concrete payment plan within two weeks. However, Indonesia** has been silent, making the two countries inkf-21The partnership on the project froze.
Recently,kf-21The main contractor for the project, South KoreaAerospaceThe Industrial Corporation (KAI) said that even without Indonesian funds,kf-21The progress of the R&D is not expected to be financially distressed. Moreover, Poland, the United Arab Emirates and other countries have already expressed their rightkf-21of strong interest.
Taking into account the current situation in IndonesiaPoliticsThe situation and the situation with the defense budget, as well as the situation with arrears, it is possible that South Korea will begin to look for new onesInternationalpartners to move forwardkf-21Project.
Indonesia** due to the inflation of the defense budget has led to arrears in cooperation projects, making the cooperation with South Koreakf-21The project partnership is in a frozen period. While Indonesia is ongoingAir ForceThe upgrading of equipment, but the upgrading of ground equipment is relatively lagging behind. Faced with arrears and a lack of payment plans, South Korea may have to find new partners to move forwardkf-21Project. At present, countries such as Poland and the United Arab Emirates have expressed their rightkf-21of interest, South Korea is expected to beInternationalFind a new fighter partner on the market. Indonesia** needs to reassess its defense budget and strategic planning to ensure the full development of its defense forces.