FINCANTIERI WILL PROVIDE 8 VESSELS TO INDONESIA 

The Group has been awarded the program for the Navy of the Asian Country 

10 JUNE 2021

Trieste, June 10, 2021 – Fincantieri, one of the most important shipbuilding groups in the world, and the Ministry of Defense of Indonesia, have signed a contract for the supply of 6 FREMM class frigates, the modernization and sale of 2 Maestrale class frigates, and the related logistical support.

The order represents a success for Fincantieri and for the Country, which has a fleet of 10 FREMM ships. The agreement is of the utmost importance to strengthen the collaboration between two Countries in a strategic area of the Pacific.

Fincantieri will be prime contractor for the entire program. The construction of the frigates will ensure significant employment benefits not only for several Italian shipyards of the Group in the next years, but also for other companies in the sector, namely Leonardo, as well as numerous small and medium-sized national companies, and will see the collaboration of the local PT-PAL shipyard (Java island). The modernization of the two Maestrale class vessels, which Fincantieri will acquire from the Italian Navy once decommissioned, will also be carried out in Italy.

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, commented: “The acquisition of an order of this magnitude allows Fincantieri to also assume global leadership in the surface ships sector, and is the confirmation of the technological leadership of a project once again considered the most innovative on the market which led to 20 ships for several foreign Navies, between orders and options. This program has an extraordinary strategic importance, both for the economic return for our Country and for the Italian defense supply chain, and because it ensures Fincantieri’s strong positioning in the area, paving the way for the finalization of further important negotiations for other programs already in progress also in the civil sector”. Bono concluded: “Finally, I want to acknowledge our Navy, which has made a decisive contribution to building together with the Country’s industry a ship that is appreciated all over the world and which fully satisfies its operational needs”.

Good news, the Ministry of Defense and Dassault have signed the initial 36 Rafale contracts

Posted onJune 10, 2021

AIRSPACE REVIEW (airspace-review.com) – Good news from the planned purchase of defense equipment by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemhan RI).

An Airspace Review source in Jakarta said the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and Dassault Aviation (the manufacturer of the Rafale) from France had signed an initial contract for the procurement of 36 multi-role fighter jets.

The signing of the initial contract called the “Come Into Force” contract was signed on Monday, June 7, 2021 and will take effect in December 2021.

"The 'Come Into Force' contract was signed on Monday, June 7th. The contract will go into effect in December this year," said an AR source.

He added that Indonesia's journey to get the Rafale plane from France is still long.

The “Come Into Force” contract will then become the basis for the Effective Contract after all agreements between Indonesia and France are reached and Indonesia has paid an advance for the purchase of 36 Rafale.

As far as RID is aware, the first 3 FREMMs will be produced in Italy, as well as in Italy the modernization of the 2 MAESTRALE, which Fincantieri will acquire from the Navy once decommissioned, will be carried out, while the other 3 FREMMs will be built by the local PT PAL shipyard. More details in the next few hours and on RID 7/21.

This Brainstorming Weapons Requirements Plan is intended to match user needs, in this case the TNI, with the blueprint for long-term defense equipment needs prepared by the Ministry of Defense.

11 JUNE 2021

Philippines reveals more details about submarine acquisition plans

by Gabriel Dominguez

The Philippines has revealed more details about its plans to acquire its first-ever diesel-electric attack submarines.

Speaking to the state-owned Philippines News Agency (PNA) on 7 June, then-Philippine Navy (PN) chief Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, who retired the following day upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56, said Manila has earmarked PHP70 billion (USD1.47 billion) for the acquisition of two submarines along with an integrated logistics support package (ILS). Also included is infrastructure work on naval facilities to accommodate the boats.

Gripen RCS is 1m but KFX RCS is 0.1m while F35 rcs is 0.05-0.01 m.
Shape is the main factor to reduce RCS.
Gripen is still using conventional shape but KFX is not.
Looking at KFX roadmap, The initial block KFX doesnt have weapon internal bay (WIB) because Indonesia requirement for long range jet that need bigger fuel tank which make the rcs still big for 5th gen fighter.
Looking at the roadmap, KFX next block will have WIB which will reduced the rcs further but could reduced the operational range.

The term is IWB not WIB....my mistake.

Is it my eyes or is that a cross on the hospital ship?

thought the reason for the lack of weapon internal bay is because US doesn't agree to transfer the technology needed for internal targeting pod & fire control system?
without those the KFX would not be able to reduce the RCS & remain a glorified legacy hornet at twice the price of advance super hornet.

this jet too can only be sold to country that themselves can bought american or european jet. so the possibilities of block 2 or 3 being finance by foreign sales is rather limited.
so the whole picture of carrier base kfx are just KAI way of trying to suck more of korean taxes payer money
so ID was quite correct in ditching it and go for the rafale.

Indonesia to Send Back Engineers to South Korea for KF-X Participation

Our Bureau
06:20 PM, April 28, 2021

Indonesia is likely to send back its engineers to South Korea for participation in the KF-X fighter jet project in a sign that the two countries are close to an agreement on the former re-joining the program.

Indonesia has asked Seoul to help its engineers “catch up with the technological progress made while they were away back home over coronavirus concerns,” the defense ministry said Wednesday, according to Yonhap News.

Indonesia is a partner for South Korea's 8.8 trillion won (US$7.9 billion) project to develop its first a 4.5 generation fighter jet, though Jakarta has stopped making milestone payments to shoulder 20 percent of the total development cost.

Indonesian engineers working alongside those of Korea Aerospace Industries returned home in March 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. South Korean engineers continued with the development and unveiled the jet's first prototype earlier this month.

Indonesia reaffirmed its commitment to the project during its Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto's visit to South Korea to attend the KF-X jet’s rollout ceremony. South Korean officials had then asserted Prabowo had agreed to get back into the project and ordered working-group level discussions.

"Indonesia welcomed proposals made by South Korea to boost the two countries' defense cooperation and expressed hope for South Korea's support to help Indonesian officials catch up with the technology gap in the KF-21/IF-X joint development project," the ministry said a report to the parliament.

13/06/2021 11:41 

36 Rafale for Indonesia

After Qatar, Egypt, India, Greece and Croatia, Indonesia signs letter of intent to acquire Dassault Aviation aircraft

Compensation

According to local sources, Indonesia's initial contract for the purchase of 36 new Rafales was signed on June 7 during a visit by Florence Parly, which was prepared in the greatest secrecy.

This contract would take effect next December because several details are still to be settled. Article 43 of the law on the defense industry, adopted in 2012 ("Undang Nomor 16 Tahun 2012 tentang INDUSTRI PERTAHANAN") imposes IDKLO rules (countertrade, local content and offset), namely in particular the calculation of a compensation, and the integration of local components into any foreign product acquired to meet the needs of the security and defense forces.

Secret negotiations

During his visit to Paris last October, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto made clear to his French counterparts his government's interest in the Rafale. Last February, a Dassault delegation traveled to Indonesia to review the terms of the deal with the defense ministry. The press then mentioned the purchase of 48 Rafale.

According to some reports, the Indonesian leaders have decided to buy "only" 36 Rafale, to supplement them with second-hand F-15s by 2024 as compensation so as not to upset the Pentagon. The financial package would be similar to that proposed to Egypt, namely a loan guaranteed for 80% of the total amount of the contract.

Last week, all the industrialists of the "Rafale Team" were still holding their breath. Indeed, while the technical and financial offer had been handed over to the Indonesian government, the United States Embassy had just launched an unprecedented lobbying offensive to block the decision of Jakarta. And this in order to allow Lockheed to make an economically more attractive offer in favor of its F-16 block 72.

However, as long as the first deposit is not paid, Washington, already in difficulty on the contract for the acquisition of future Swiss combat aircraft, will not miss any opportunity to regain the initiative.

What does this mean?
US acquiring Griffon?

Swiss leaning toward Rafale jet purchase: report

Swiss order will replace the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C/D Hornets and the remaining Northrop F-5E/F Tigers

By DAVE MAKICHUK
JUNE 9, 2021

After securing major contracts in Greece, Croatia, India and Egypt, French aeronautics firm Dassault Aviation is close to inking a major deal with Switzerland for the Rafale fighter jet, according to local media reports.

The Air 2030 tender for the Swiss Air Force was launched in 2020 following the positive outcome of a referendum on whether Switzerland should acquire new fighter jets.

According to AerotimeHub, 50.1% of voters have voted “yes” to the procurement estimated at 6 billion Swiss francs (roughly US$7 billion). The acquisition would concern 30 to 40 aircraft to be delivered by 2025.

The choice of the model of the new combat aircraft by the Federal Council could be made before the end of June 2021. If Switzerland was to pick the Rafale, it would mark yet another success for the French fighter jet.

The Rafale is still competing in Finland and is also being considered by Ukraine and Indonesia.

The Swiss order aims to replace the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C/D Hornets and the few remaining Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II antiques that are still assigned to secondary tasks.

The main purpose of the upcoming multi-role fighter jet will be to carry out air policing missions.

Four contenders are currently in the race: the Dassault Rafale, the Lockheed Martin F-35, the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, and the Eurofighter Typhoon. The Saab Gripen E/F was excluded as it will not be operational before 2023.

Lockheed Martin is so hopeful that TNI-AU will buy F-16 Block 72, they already have a dedicated page on it

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/produc...-indonesia.html

Rafale is better....with low RCS airframe, SPECTRA and long-ranged Meteor. Already has AESA radar too.

The F-16 Block 72 for Indonesia: The Ideal Bridge to 5th Gen Capabilities

Three Reasons the F-16 Block 72 is the Ideal Bridge to Fifth-Generation Capabilities 

It’s not your standard fourth-generation aircraft.

The F-16 Block 72 incorporates the latest advances in technology and combat capability – many of which could be considered fifth generation. Here are three reasons why the powerful F-16 Block 72 can serve as a bridge between Indonesia’s current fleet of F-16s and fifth-generation aircraft like the F-35.

1. It could be considered a 4-and-a-half generation fighter.

Lockheed Martin is the only company in the world that has two operational fifth-generation fighters, the F-22 and F-35. That means Lockheed Martin can leverage the fifth-generation technologies of these platforms and integrate them back into the F-16 Block 72 for Indonesia – and vice versa.

For example, Northrop Grumman’s advanced APG-83 Advanced Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar provides 5th generation capabilities by leveraging hardware and software commonality with the F-22 and F-35 AESA radars. APG-83 shares 95% software commonality and 70% hardware commonality with the F-35 radar.

Overall, Lockheed Martin provides a proven and comprehensive high-value transfer of advanced aerospace technology and a transition plan from fourth to fifth generation.

2. Common infrastructure and supply chain.

With 34 F-16s already, the Indonesian Air Force has existing F-16 support equipment, spares, and trained pilots and maintenance personnel in place. Recently upgraded IDAF F-16A Block 15 aircraft brought mid-life structural enhancements and upgraded avionics to the fleet, and now these jets would complement Block 72 F-16s.

With this F-16 experience and infrastructure already in place, the F-16 Block 72 would allow for a more smooth, efficient transition and cost-effective operations because initial investments are complete. Additionally, with more than 3,000 F-16s in operation today by 25 countries, F-16 users worldwide can share information as well as sustainment projects and costs associated with maintaining the F-16 – many of which are common with fifth-generation users. In fact, about half of the F-16 supply chain is in common with the F-22 and F-35.

3. Building partnerships.

Many international F-35 users also operated the F-16 – either in the past or continuously today. Most upgraded their existing F-16 fleets to the latest configuration as an initial path in the transition to fifth-generation fighter technologies.

Today, the F-16 continues to serve as the workhouse of the NATO air fleet and allied defense missions around the world. By choosing the F-16 Block 72, Indonesia would join a network of nations operating earlier-model F-16s, new F-16s and F-35s. While any discussions on fifth-generation aircraft for Indonesia will begin with the U.S. government, the F-16 Block 72 offers the Indonesian Air Force a path to fifth-generation capabilities in the future.