Indonesia to buy 42 warplanes, 2 submarines from France

Jakarta, Feb 11 Indonesia will purchase 42 Rafale warplanes and two Scorpene-class submarines from France to update its defense equipment.

The deal came after Indonesia's Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto met his French counterpart Florence Parly here on Thursday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The warplane purchase agreement was signed by the CEO of French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier, and the head of the Defence Infrastructure Agency of Indonesia's Defence Ministry, Yusuf Jauhari.

"We have signed the deal to buy six warplanes first. The rest 36 will be purchased in the near future. We will also support each other in weaponry trainings," Subianto said in a virtual press conference after the bilateral meeting.

Meanwhile, the deal to buy two Scorpene-class submarines was signed by Indonesia's state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL and France's NAVAL Group.

Indonesia is currently improving its military infrastructure, including the primary weapon system and the security equipment, as part of its efforts to upgrade its defence capability.