Pakistan and Indonesia Accelerate Talks & deals

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics on X

Advanced negotiations for nearly 40 JF-17 Thunder fighters and armed drones underscore Pakistan’s emergence as a defence exporter and Indonesia’s strategic push to rebalance airpower amid rising Indo-Pacific tensions.

Pakistan and Indonesia reportedly accelerated negotiations over a potential acquisition of nearly 40 JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter jets and associated armed unmanned systems, marking a consequential inflection point in Asia’s evolving defence procurement ecosystem as both states recalibrate airpower strategies amid intensifying Indo-Pacific security competition, widening maritime flashpoints, and escalating cost pressures across global defence markets.

The strategic weight of these discussions was underscored following a high-level meeting in Islamabad between Indonesia’s Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Pakistan Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, with both sides later confirming engagement on “matters of mutual interest, evolving regional and global security dynamics, and exploration of avenues for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation,” signalling intent without prematurely locking in contractual commitments.

A senior Pakistani defence source framed the scale of the negotiations more explicitly when retired Pakistan Air Force Air Marshal Asim Suleiman stated that “the Indonesia deal is in the pipeline,” confirming the prospective acquisition figure was “close to 40,” a quantity that—if finalized—would place Indonesia among the largest international operators of the JF-17 platform and elevate Pakistan into the upper tier of emerging fighter exporters.

From an economic standpoint, the prospective deal—estimated between US$1–1.5 billion (RM4.7–7.1 billion) depending on configuration, training, and sustainment packages—would rank among Pakistan’s most significant defence export achievements, reinforcing Islamabad’s increasingly deliberate strategy of monetising indigenous aerospace capabilities to offset fiscal constraints and external financing pressures.

For Indonesia, whose air force modernization drive already includes 42 Rafale fighters valued at US$8.1 billion (RM38.3 billion) and 48 Turkish KAAN fighters, the JF-17 Thunder offers a cost-efficient, multirole complement capable of sustaining wide-area maritime patrols and strike missions across the world’s largest archipelagic state without overburdening defence budgets.

Beyond numbers, the talks carry symbolic and strategic resonance, deepening defence-industrial ties between two Muslim-majority nations that increasingly view autonomy, diversified sourcing, and operational flexibility as essential hedges against great-power volatility and supply-chain weaponization.