Indo-Pacific news

Austrian media reported on September 6 that Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner has confirmed that the European country will enter negotiations with Indonesia for the sale of its 15 Eurofighter EF-2000 fighters.

As reported previously, Indonesia had indicated its interest in acquiring the jets, with Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto writing to his Austrian counterparts in July requesting for negotiations.

Any sale of the aircraft would be subject to the approval of the Eurofighter consortium partners nations – Germany, the UK, Spain, and Italy – as well as the US which is the source of the some of the aircraft’s systems.

Austria announced plans in 2017 to phase the Eurofighters out by 2023. The aircraft are early Tranche I aircraft that are configured only for air-to-air combat and lack a beyond visual-range (BVR) missile, and key sensors and defensive systems. The neutral European nation has not announced plans for what air combat capability would replace the Eurofighters.

Indonesia has a mixed fleet of combat aircraft, including Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30s, Lockheed Martin F-16A-Ds, and KAI T-50s. It will also reportedly acquire 32 F-16V Block 70 fighters, has expressed interest in the Dassault Rafale, and has also reportedly finalised acquisition plans for 11 Sukhoi Su-35s. But the Sukhoi sale has stalled due to the looming threat of US sanctions