Jakarta is procuring 16 dual-seat and 26 single seat Rafales, with deliveries expected to being by February 2026, according to Indonesian reports.
The Indonesian Air Force’s (TNI Angkatan Udara – TNI AU) first Dassault Rafale F4 made its maiden flight at Dassault’s factory at Bordeaux-Mérignac, as confirmed by images that appeared online on the evening of Sep. 19, 2025. The images were captured and published on Facebook by photographer Swiderek Maciejka.
The twin-seat Rafale F4, tail number T-0301, was also photographed by Maciejka while taxiing on the facility’s runway three days prior, on Sep. 16, presumably for ground trials ahead of the Sep. 19 first test flight. The logo of the Skadron Udara 12, also known as the “Black Panthers,” is visible just below the canopy.
Both the front and the rear seat were occupied. However it is not clear if both were pilots from Dassault Aviation or if a pilot of the TNI AU was also present.
The Rafale bears a striking two-tone gray camouflage scheme, sporting full TNI-AU colours and markings. It is one of the 42 Jakarta is procuring from Dassault in an $8.1 billion deal announced on Feb. 10, 2022.
Of the 42, 16 are dual-seat seat jets, while the remaining 26 are single-seat jets, and will be operated by the service’s 6th Air Wing. The 12th Air Squadron at Roesmin Nurajdin AFB, one of the 6th AW’s constituent units, will be the first one to operate the French jet.
TNI AU current fleet
The French fighters will mark the retirement of Indonesia’s roughly 30 U.S.-made F-16s, five Russian Su-27SKM and 11 Su-30MK2 Flankers, according to figures by the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs. The country also operates 21 British-made BAE Hawk 200 as light attack aircraft, as per the 2025 World Air Forces report.
Additionally, the country has signed up for future procurement of both the South Korean KAI KF-21 Boramae and the Turkish TAI Kaan. It also operates six KAI T-50 Golden Eagles, designated T-50i, and, on Jul. 20, 2021, signed another $240 million contract for six more.
Indonesian Rafales
The first flight of the twin-seat TNI AU Rafale came days after Antara quoted the service’s Chief of Staff Marshal Tonny Harjono on Sep. 13, who said that the first jets are expected to reach the southeast Asian country beginning in February 2026. “We plan to receive the first batch of three aircraft between February and March 2026,” followed by a second batch in Apr. 2026, until the deliveries of 42 airframes is complete, Antara added.
Harjono noted that the induction of the Rafale fighter jets “will significantly strengthen the Air Force’s defense capabilities, which are currently supported by aircraft such as the T-80, Hawk 100/200, Sukhoi Su-30, and F-16.” The commander also touched upon the “maintenance facilities have been prepared and technicians assigned to support Rafale operations, ensuring the aircraft will function properly.”
“He expressed hope that the fighter jets would arrive on time and soon be operated by Indonesian Air Force pilots to safeguard national airspace,” further mentioned the report. Indonesia’s order for the Rafale was split in a first-phase procurement contract in September 2022 for six units, followed by an August 2023 deal for 18 additional units, and a year later the final 18, making up the 42 aircraft, as per head the then MoD spokesperson Brigadier General Edwin Adrian Sumantha.
The TNI AU also revealed on Facebook on Aug. 11, 2025, that four pilots of the Pilot Training Batch 1 and 12 technicians were in France at the time, receiving initial training on the Rafale under the Organizational Level of Maintenance (OLM) Technical programs, expected to last until December 2025.
Led by Lt. Col. Pnb Binggi Nobel, Head of the Operations Division of Supadio Air Force Base, the ground personnel will train in both classrooms and hangar on “vector, avionics and armaments” while the aviators will “deepen their knowledge of Rafale systems and operating procedures before undergoing simulator and flight training phases.” The pilots will fully “master mission simulations and flight exercises.”
Indonesia and France defense ties
Indonesia is also likely to expand its Rafale order, after Presidents Prabowo Subianto and Emmanuel Macron Jakarta and Paris signed in May. 28 a “preliminary defense pact” through a Letter of Intent. The pact could lead to “new orders of military equipment from Paris, including Rafale jets and Scorpene submarines,” said Macron as quoted by the Jakarta Post.
“I am delighted that the letter of intent signed today could open up a new perspective with new orders for Rafales, Scorpenes, light frigates,” Macron said at a joint press conference with Subianto. The latter did not mention the new pact, but called France one of Indonesia’s main partners in upgrading military hardware, including the development of the defense industry through joint production and technology transfers.
Jakarta has already contracted two Scorpene submarines with France’s Naval Group and 13 long-range surveillance radars from Thales, as per contracts inked in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
