Indonesian military aircraft procurement, staged "order grabbing" drama Not long ago, Dassault group of France announced that Indonesia had officially signed a contract to purchase 42 Rafale fighters. In recent years, Indonesia has made a lot of "blood money" in the development of naval and air force equipment, and has repeatedly introduced warships and fighters from the United States, Russia and other countries. Some media reported that the transaction between the Indonesian military and Dassault group amounted to US $8.1 billion. If the deal goes smoothly, Indonesia will become the second largest equipment country of French weapons in Southeast Asia. In order to facilitate this cooperation, French defense minister Florence Paley personally went to the scene to sign the relevant documents, which can be said to be sincere and sincere. However, only a few hours after Dassault group's "official announcement", the "intercepting Hu" from its allies made France cold - the US State Department announced that it had approved the sale of f-15id fighters and supporting equipment to Indonesia, including airborne equipment such as radar and early warning system, with a total price of us $13.9 billion. The military trade market has always been a battlefield without smoke of gunpowder, and it is also a "challenge arena" for military enterprises of various countries. Under the complex situation of the United States, Russia, France and other multinational military industrial enterprises competing for the first bid, Indonesia's response to the military trade partnership can be called a typical case in the international military trade market. Military aircraft procurement is constrained everywhere, and Indonesia is in a dilemma Gust fighter is not the first choice of the Indonesian air force. As early as 2015, Indonesia threw "Hydrangea" at Russian Su-35 fighters and was determined to introduce Russian made fighters to replace the old F-5E / F fighters. Three years later, the Indonesian Ministry of defense and the Russian state technology group finally finalized the contract for the purchase of 11 Su-35 after many price negotiations. However, shortly after Indonesia announced its procurement plan, the United States began to put pressure on Indonesia, which was forced to abandon the Su-35 procurement plan and turn its attention to Europe. In order to win the favor of buyers, Dassault group of France has made extraordinary efforts. This order is a "package, turnkey" package. In addition to fighter aircraft and supporting ammunition, the order also includes pilot training plan, logistics support of multiple Indonesian Air Force bases and training centers equipped with full mission simulators. For Indonesia, which has a weak aviation industry foundation, the conditions offered by Dassault group are exciting. In the past year, Dassault group's "gust" fighters have been sought after by buyers in the international military trade market. In addition to the UAE "ordering" 80 aircraft, Greece and Croatia have also become customers of Dassault group. At the beginning of this year, the "gust" welcomed the "good start" - French defense minister Florence Paley quickly rushed to Jakarta, signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with Indonesia, and finalized the delivery node and other details. For this cooperation, Dassault group announced: "this is the beginning of Dassault's partnership with the user country Indonesia." A few hours later, the "troublemaker" came—— Shortly after the official announcement of Indonesia and France, the United States announced that the State Department had approved the sale of 36 f-15id fighters to Indonesia. For Indonesia, the conditions given by the United States are also very favorable. The plan hastily approved by the US side includes not only fighter aircraft, but also 87 advanced aeroengines, Raytheon's active phased array radar, "litanning" Navigation Pod, sniper aiming pod and many other "highly equipped" airborne equipment. Although the U.S. mentioned the Indonesian version of f-15id in the announcement, some media reported that the configuration standard of the aircraft is flush with the latest f-15ex. If Indonesia agrees to this deal, it is likely to become the first overseas user of f-15ex. The United States "stepped in" and put the orders signed between Indonesia and France at risk. After all, it is not the first time that France has been "intercepted" by its allies. In 2016, the French Navy Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Royal Australian Navy to design and build 12 conventional powered submarines. However, just last year, the United States and Britain announced that they would assist Australia in building nuclear submarines. Australia immediately changed its face and immediately tore up the military trade order with the French Navy group. Now, will Indonesia, which is in a dilemma, purchase f-15id? If f-15id is purchased, how will Indonesia mix and match equipment with "gust"? This poses a big problem for the Indonesian military. The military budget is stretched, and it is difficult to choose between careful calculations The signing of US $8.1 billion French "gust" orders triggered the "order grabbing" action of the United States, which once again attracted the attention of the world military industry circle and focused on Indonesia. As an island country, Indonesia has been committed to upgrading the modernization level of weapons and equipment in recent years. In the previously formulated national defense modernization plan, Indonesia will equip 274 "green water navy" ships, 12 fighter squadrons and 12 new diesel electric submarines. Therefore, Indonesia has become a "sweet pastry" in the international military trade market, with an endless stream of door-to-door sellers. In the recent large arms sales order signed with France, in addition to the "gust" fighter, Indonesia also plans to purchase two Sebastian class diesel electric attack submarines. According to the technology transfer agreement, these submarines will be built by Indonesian shipbuilding enterprises. Although the plan is good, the overstretched military budget is a practical problem. Novel coronavirus pneumonia is facing urgent needs for upgrading and upgrading of the Indonesian navy and air force. But after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia outbreak, the Indonesian economy suffered heavy losses, and the huge expenditure in public health field caused the Indonesian government to have a headache. Take 2021 as an example, the defense budget announced by Indonesia is about US $9.2 billion. Apart from daily expenses, there are few funds that can be used for military purchase. In the face of huge orders of billions and tens of billions of dollars, these funds need to be calculated carefully. In the face of two powerful "sellers", how should Indonesia choose? This is indeed a difficult choice. The "big plane" was abolished halfway, and the aviation recovery remains to be seen In October 1924, a plane flew from Amsterdam, the Netherlands across the mountains and seas to Indonesia, opening the prelude to the development of Indonesia's aviation industry. In the 1940s, after Indonesia's independence, the military established the planning and Construction Bureau and built a small factory for manufacturing aviation basic materials and gliders, setting up "four beams and eight pillars" for the development of the aviation industry. The traffic demand between the islands shows Indonesia the development potential of the aviation industry. In the following decades, the government continuously issued policies and increased support. It not only established state-owned airlines, but also set up aviation machinery specialty in Bandung Institute of technology, and trained a large number of technical talents. Due to the weak industrial foundation of our country, how to realize "overtaking on Curves"? Indonesia has placed its hopes on the Western military powers. Indonesia has successively cooperated with military enterprises in Germany, Spain and other countries to produce many types of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, which has developed rapidly in the field of aviation manufacturing. In the 1980s, the Indonesian aircraft industry company was reorganized and established, and jointly developed the twin engine turboprop feeder transport aircraft cn-235 with the Spanish aviation manufacturing company. It once became a "Star" product in the international military trade market, with nearly 200 sold. Ten years later, under the "blood transfusion" of the government's $1.1 billion R & D fund, the Indonesian aviation industry created "fist" products such as turboprop airliner n-250, which attracted the general attention of customers in the civil aviation market. When the wind goes with the water, there is often a hidden crisis. In 1997, affected by the Asian financial crisis, this grand occasion took a sharp turn for the worse. The International Monetary Fund promised to provide financial support to the Indonesian government, whose economy has been hit hard, but attached the qualification of "no money to the aviation industry". Indonesia's aviation industry was hit hard, and the "big plane" project, which has received more than 200 orders, had to be abolished halfway. Entering the new century, the Indonesian government began to promote the revival and development of the aviation industry in order to boost its economy. Now, in addition to undertaking the subcontract production of some models of Boeing and Airbus, Indonesian aerospace company also actively seeks to carry out international cooperation with military enterprises. In terms of military aircraft procurement, Indonesia has put forward many additional conditions conducive to the revitalization of its aviation industry. After announcing the cancellation of the purchase of Su-35, Indonesia proposed to have "trade compensation" and other relevant provisions for the country of origin of fighter aircraft, requiring Party B, as the fighter aircraft supplier, to make certain compensation to Indonesia's aviation industry in the form of technology transfer or industrial cooperation. Based on this clause, if the Indonesian air force is equipped with "gust", Indonesian aerospace company is likely to participate in the maintenance and repair of "gust" fighters and carry out relevant cooperation with Safran, Thales and other companies in the fields of engines, avionics equipment and so on. Combing the development history of Indonesia's aviation industry, it is not difficult to find that as early as the beginning of its establishment, Indonesia's aviation industry relied too much on the support of the government and the military, and its own "hematopoietic" ability was insufficient. Once it was affected by foreign "neck" technology, the development of the whole aviation industry could not help being impacted. Now, with the "spending a lot of money" attracted many sellers, it remains to be seen whether they can find development opportunities and usher in the recovery of the aviation industry. (outlook new era)