JAKARTA: Indonesia confirmed on Wednesday (Jun 14) it had bought 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets previously used by Qatar, defending the nearly US$800 million deal as a fast way to upgrade the air force after it was criticised by lawmakers who said the planes were too old.
The defence ministry said in a statement that Indonesia had signed the deal for €733 million (US$792 million) with Excalibur International, a unit of Czech defence company Czechoslovak Group (CSG) in January. The planes would be delivered within 24 months of that date.