U.S. to offer Indonesia 4th, 4.5th generation fighter jets before F-35

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The United States (U.S.) government is preparing an offer of the 4th and 4.5th generation fighter jets to Indonesia before the latter gets the F-35.

“The U.S. is now preparing an offer, giving Indonesia several proposals that we haven’t seen before. The U.S. will give everything to Indonesia without reservation,” Indonesian Ambassador to the U.S. Muhammad Lutfi said in a virtual press conference on Monday (Nov 2).

He explained that to obtain the 5th generation of F-35 fighter jet, Indonesia should first have the 4th and 4.5th generations.

“To get the F-35, the 4th and 4.5th generations are in the F-16 Block 72 generation, which is the most advanced fighter jet before the F-35,” the ambassador said.

He added that Indonesia’s waiting period for acquiring the F-35 was already nine years.

“Currently the fighter jets we have are the F-16 A/B version. It is so old. Besides rejuvenating them into C/D version, we also received an offer for F-16 Block 72,” Ambassador Lutfi said.

According to him, the offer of 4th and 4.5th generation fighter jets is part of the U.S. diplomacy because Indonesia has the same values ​​in democracy and freedom.

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 is the 5th generation jet fighter that combines advanced stealth technology with combat speed and agility, fully integrated sensor information and network-enabled operations.

Reporting by Indonesia Window