Indonesia is weighing options to purchase the Chinese-built J-10 Vigorous Dragon fourth-generation combat jet for its air force.
Verified by Indonesian Deputy Defense Minister Donny Ermawan Taufanto, the plan surfaced after a visit by Jakarta’s military officials to China — two months after the government said it would assess a billion-dollar F-15EX Eagle II procurement with American aerospace company Boeing.
Taufanto said that Beijing offered the jets, but stressed that the Southeast Asian country’s assessment is still in its early stages and has not yet sent a team to review technical requirements or accept a tender.
“If we find that the jet performs well, meets our criteria, and comes at a good price, why not?” Taufanto’s commented on China’s J-10 offer, Bloomberg reported.
“We’re not bound by any alliance, so we can source weapons from any country, including China.”
Upgrading Warplanes
The Indonesian Air Force currently operates the US-made F-16 Fighting Falcon and the Russian Sukhoi jets.
In 2023, Jakarta signed a memorandum of understanding with Boeing for the possible sale of F-15EXs to the military as a step to modernize its airborne combat capabilities, during which the Pentagon said that integrating the new aircraft would complement Indonesia’s existing American jets and “interoperability with American forces.”
Approval of the F-15EX deal was completed one year before — around the same time that Indonesia signed a contract to buy Rafale warplanes from France — but has not yet seen a final agreement signed.
A modern version of Russia’s Sukhoi system was also offered to the air force prior to these projects, but Jakarta backed out of the plane’s adoption due to an issue with acquisition-related complications and fear of US sanctions.
China’s J-10
The J-10 aircraft, referred to by NATO as the “Firebird,” is a 17-meter (56-foot) system with a wingspan of 10 meters (33 feet).
It is armed with autocannons, unguided rockets, guided bombs, multi-domain warheads, and anti-radiation missiles.
The plane is equipped with a Shenyang WS-10 afterburning turbofan engine for a range of 2,500 nautical miles (4,630 kilometers/2,877 miles), a top speed of Mach 1.8 (2,223 kilometers/1,381 miles per hour), and a service ceiling of 18,000 meters (59,055 feet).
The J-10 was recently seen in action as part of Pakistan’s fleet in its ongoing dispute with the Indian military over Kashmir.
