Indonesian President Expresses Interest In Turkish KAAN Fighter And Submarine Projects
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto says his government is interested in participating in the development of Turkey’s KAAN stealth fighter aircraft and in joint development of submarines.
During an April 10 press conference in Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following a bilateral meeting, Prabowo said “Indonesia wants to participate in the development of the ‘Kaan’ fifth-generation fighter jet and submarine development with the Turkish industry”, but did not provide further details.
Turkish munitions manufacturer Roketsan announced April 12 that it had signed an agreement to build a factory in Indonesia to assemble anti-ship cruise missiles and other precision guided munitions, as well as provide technology transfers, after Prabowo hinted that a Turkish defense contractor would be doing so.
Turkish drone maker Baykar had previously announced the formation of a joint venture with Indonesian privately held defense holding firm Republikorp for Indonesian assembly of Bayraktar TB3 and Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicles in February.
It is unclear how Jakarta intends to fund its participation in any of the programs mentioned, as Prabowo’s government has engaged in an austerity drive since February to find nearly $19 billion in cuts to the national budget in order to fund a universal free school lunch program that was part of his campaign platform, with projects like construction on the new capital of Nusantara not spared.
The austerity campaign has been deeply unpopular, sparking protests that have only intensified since the announcement of law reforms that would increase the Indonesian military’s role in Indonesian politics, with critics warning that it might herald the return of the “dwifungsi” system that codified the Indonesian military’s wide political influence during Suharto’s New Order autocracy.
Jakarta is currently in a joint development program with South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries for the KF-21 Boramae fighter, but has significantly cut back its financial commitments and industrial involvement in a deal struck following repeated difficulties in paying funds owed to its South Korean partners, as well as an accusation that a Indonesian engineer attempted to steal program data.
Indonesia has also previously selected France’s Naval Group to build two new attack submarines for the Indonesian Navy, with both Scorpene Evolved submarines to be built in Indonesian shipyards.