Indonesia offered to buy Austria's entire Eurofighter Typhoon fighter fleet

Austrian Air Force Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon fighter aircraft. Photo c/o Eurofighter GmbH.

The Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MOD) was reported to have been interested in acquiring used Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon fighter aircraft, and has offered to purchase the Austrian Air Force's (AAF) fleet.

According to Austrian newspaper Die Presse and reported also with Indonesia's Jakarta Post, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has sent a letter dated 10 July 2020 to his Austrian counterpart Klaudia Tanner with an offer to purchase all 15 Typhoon fighters of the AAF.

The Austrian Ministry of Defence declined to provide any comment about the report.

The Austrian EF-2000 Typhoon fighters are part of the initial Tranche 1 batch that are limited in capability, although upgrades can be made into the Tranche 2 and current Tranche 3 standard used by other operators of the type.

The Eurofighter Consortium, composed of entities from Germany and Spain (Airbus Defense and Space), Italy (Leonardo), and the UK (BAE Systems), already offered the latest Eurofighter Typhoon to Indonesia, and has even offered to transfer production facilities in Spain to Indonesia should they choose to go with the offer.

The sale of Austrian Typhoons to Indonesia may require the approval of all 4 countries, since this may also hinder their offer to sell brand new units. But this could also benefit them as allowing Indonesia to acquire the Austrian Typhoons will make Indonesia commit more to the Typhoon, and allow for potential sale of new units in the near future.

The AAF's fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons were ordered in 2003 and delivered starting 2007. According to British defense media Jane's, the fighters were flown less than expected due to budget constraints, reaching around 1,500 hours per year across the entire fleet.

The Austrian government previous announced that they are considering retiring the Typhoon fighter fleet, although this has not pushed through yet.


[1] Jane's
[2] The Jakarta Post