A few days after confirming the receipt of its first French-made Rafale fighters, the Indonesian Air Force is reported to have decided not to proceed with the purchase of new Boeing-built F-15EX Eagle II fighters, with the U.S. company now treating the deal as effectively dead after more than two years of stalled negotiations. The development was raised by Boeing Vice President of Business Development and Strategy Bernd Peters, who, during the Singapore Airshow, stated that the aircraft sale to the Asian country is no longer an “active campaign.”
It is useful to recall that since 2022 the Indonesian Air Force has had U.S. State Department approval to move forward with the acquisition of F-15EX fighters, while in 2023 the deal appeared to be making firm progress toward completion with Jakarta’s formal commitment to acquire a fleet of 24 aircraft. Indonesia even signed a Memorandum of Understanding during a visit by senior Indonesian officials to Boeing’s production plant in St. Louis (Missouri), the site where the aircraft would have been built.
On the other hand, although no formal statement has been issued by the Indonesian government on the matter, U.S. analysts have begun to speculate on the potential reasons why the purchase ultimately failed to materialize. Among the main hypotheses is that the recent acquisition of 42 Rafales may have exhausted the country’s financial capacity to move forward in parallel with an F-15EX purchase, while delivery timelines are also seen as another potential point of friction—possibly even ruling out a split buy of both platforms in smaller numbers.
In addition, it should be noted that toward the end of January the country received its first three Rafale F4 fighters after completing the long ferry flight from France, officially allowing the Air Force to begin inducting its new fleet, which will eventually total 30 single-seat and 12 twin-seat aircraft. This will complement a force currently composed mainly of F-16s upgraded to the Viper standard, as well as Su-27 and Su-30 fighters which reportedly face operational constraints due to sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine. Even so, these capabilities place Indonesia among the Southeast Asian countries with the most substantial air power.
Finally, as another factor that may have undermined the F-15EX’s prospects in Indonesia, it is worth recalling that the country has also reaffirmed its commitment to acquire up to 48 fifth-generation TAI KAAN fighters produced by Turkey’s defense-industrial complex, which it expects to receive within the next 120 months. Moreover, Indonesia is also said to maintain interest in South Korea’s KF-21 fighter, which would undoubtedly represent a significant burden on government finances and on the logistics chains required to operate such a wide array of aircraft types.
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