Erric Permana
15 October 2020•Update: 15 October 2020
JAKARTA, Indonesia
Indonesia's defense minister is scheduled to visit Vienna, Austria, next Tuesday to discuss plans to purchase of Eurofighter Typhoon jets.
Prabowo Subianto conveyed his country's interest in the jets in a letter dated Oct. 8 to his Austrian counterpart Klaudia Tanner.
"I am sure our defense cooperation will continue to grow and develop," said Subianto, adding that the deal would benefit both countries.
Previously, Prabowo wrote a letter to Klaudia Tanner on July 10, expressing Jakarta's intention to buy 15 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets.
"We are in the middle of procuring vital defense equipment to protect our national territory and citizens, thus following up on our proposal regarding the Austrian Eurofighter jets," he said in the letter.
In September, Tanner officially responded to the request, welcoming the plan and promising that she would attend to the legal issues related to the sale.
However, Tanner underlined that the transaction would not be simple as it would involve many parties.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is an advanced swing-role fighter jet, equipped with two Eurojet EJ200 engines.
*Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian-language service in Jakarta
