Jakarta. The Indonesian government recently said that it had not signed the contract on the purchase of 48 Turkish-made KAAN fighter jets as the quantity and terms were still subject to change.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously announced that Jakarta had ordered 48 KAAN jets. This military aircraft is a fifth-generation, twin-engine stealth fighter project spearheaded by the state-owned arms producer Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Turkish Defense Industries' secretary Haluk Gorgun had signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on this jet procurement at Indonesia's biggest arms show on Wednesday. Sjafrie’s spokesman Frega Ferdinand Wenas Inkiriwang, later clarified that they had yet to finalize the deal.

“The MoU doesn’t determine the amount [of KAAN jets that we will buy]. The number will be decided in the contract,” Frega told reporters on the sidelines of the 2024 Indo Defence Expo & Forum in Jakarta.

“We can only hope that the number meets our needs, but what we wish to highlight is the opportunity to cooperate. … Without a contract, the deal is not legally binding. I would only disclose the amount once we have signed the contract,” Frega said. 

An MoU typically aims to signal the willingness of two parties or more to move forward with a contract. Now that the MoU is signed, both sides will engage in a series of negotiations to finalize the technical details of the contract.

This upcoming document will not only detail how many jets Indonesia will buy, but also the level of technology transfer that the Southeast Asian country will receive.

In his social media post, Erdogan had said that the KAAN production would integrate Indonesia’s capabilities. 

However, Frega admitted that the 48 units Erdogan talked about were the number of such aircraft needed for its military. Indonesia is also hoping that the joint production with Turkey can open doors for Indonesia to export the fighter jets to other Southeast Asian markets.

Prabowo first unveiled Indonesia’s interest in Turkiye’s KAAN when the retired army general visited Erdogan in Ankara two months ago. Indonesia has been seeking to upgrade its military equipment and ramp up its domestic production.