Indonesia’s high-stakes bet on French-made Rafale jets is facing some scrutiny after Pakistan claimed they shot down three of the same aircraft used by India. This has raised some questions in Jakarta about the cost, capability, and strategic logic behind the deal, which came with a hefty price tag of over US$8 billion. The controversy all kicked off on May 7, when the Pakistan Army said they had taken down five Indian warplanes, including three Rafales, during an aerial clash. They did this using their Chinese-made J-10C fighters equipped with those fancy PL-15 air-to-air missiles.
While New Delhi hasn’t actually confirmed these claims, Indian Air Force Air Marshal AK Bharti did tell some reporters on Sunday that “losses are just a part of combat”, but he didn’t give any more details. Just a few hours after the air skirmish, CNN quoted some unnamed senior French intelligence official who confirmed that one Indian Rafale had been shot down. This, according to the broadcaster, “would mark the first time that one of those fancy French-made warplanes has been lost in combat”.
The whole situation has got Indonesia a bit nervous. They went ahead and ordered 42 Rafale warplanes from the French aviation big shot Dassault last year. Back in 2022, when Indonesia first made the order, a spokesman from France’s defense ministry told some reporters that the deal was worth a whopping US$8.1 billion. Yeah, that’s a lot of money for some fancy planes that might not hold up in a real fight. Not really sure why this matters, but it seems like Indonesia might want to reconsider their investment in these aircraft. Just saying.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like Indonesia should be a little concerned about the whole situation. They dropped a ton of cash on these Rafales, and now they’re seeing them get taken down in combat. Not a great look, if you ask me. But hey, what do I know? I’m just a fresh-faced journalist trying to make sense of it all. At the end of the day, Indonesia might want to rethink their strategy when it comes to these high-priced warplanes. Just a thought.
And there you have it, folks. Indonesia’s big bet on those French-made Rafales might not be paying off as well as they had hoped. But hey, who am I to judge? Just a humble journalist trying to make sense of it all. Let’s see how this all plays out in the end.
