First Rafale Fighter Ready For Indonesian Service: What Makes the French Jets So Controversial?

The Indonesian Air Force has released the first image showing a Rafale fighter aircraft in the service’s colours, with the fighter bearing serial number T-0301 and the emblem of the 6th Air Wing, under which the 12th Air Squadron will be the first to operate the combat jets. The Indonesian Air Force had previously planned to procure Russian Su-35S fighters, which are considerably larger and longer ranged aircraft that carry radars over three times as large as the Rafale, although an order signed for the aircraft in February 2018 was put on hold due to threats from the United States to impose economic sanctions. The Rafale prevoiusly competed against the Russian Su-30 for orders from Algerian, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia, and failed to gain contracts in any of the three cases, with the countries’ lower susceptibility to Western pressure considered a leading factor.

An $8.1 billion contract to procure 42 Rafale fighters was signed on February 10, 2022, with the French government having since continued to lobby for additional sales, most recently during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Indonesia in May.The small size of the Indonesian fighter fleet, and the large number of Rafales ordered, indicates that the Air Force is likely to replace all of its American F-16s and Russian Su-27s and Su-30s with the aircraft. The Rafale is a lightweight aircraft from a similar weight range to the F-16, however, with the retirement of the Su-27 and Su-30 leaving Indonesia without a long ranged fighter to patrol its vast territory. Procurement of the Rafale has faced significant controversy primarily due to the aircraft’s costing approximately $193 million each, but also due to questions regarding its performance.

Aside from the aircraft’s limited range, small radar size, and highly conservative flight performance, the Rafale’s avionics are also considered far behind par with the latest Chinese and American fighters such as the F-18E/F, F-35, J-10C and J-20, despite being procured at a similar cost. The aircraft have accordingly not only failed to gain contracts from major European air forces, which have consistently favoured the American F-35, but have also consistently been considered inferior to the F-18E/F in these tenders. This controversy surrounding the Rafale’s capabilities heightened after the shootdowns of between one and four of the French jets fielded by the Indian Air Force, after the Pakistan Air Force deployed J-10C fighters to counter them in early May. The Rafale’s combination of limited capacities and a very high cost has thus fuelled significant criticism of the Indonesian Air Force’s decision to invest so heavily in procurements.