Indonesian Air Force’s First Rafale Takes Maiden Flight

['Parth Satam', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] The Aviationist 2025-09-20 00:00:00

The Indonesian Air Force’s (TNI Angkatan Udara – TNI AU) first Dassault Rafale F4 made its maiden flight at Dassault’s factory at Bordeaux-Mérignac, as confirmed by images that appeared online on the evening of Sep. 19, 2025. However it is not clear if both were pilots from Dassault Aviation or if a pilot of the TNI AU was also present. TNI AU current fleetThe French fighters will mark the retirement of Indonesia’s roughly 30 U.S.-made F-16s, five Russian Su-27SKM and 11 Su-30MK2 Flankers, according to figures by the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs. The country also operates 21 British-made BAE Hawk 200 as light attack aircraft, as per the 2025 World Air Forces report. The pact could lead to “new orders of military equipment from Paris, including Rafale jets and Scorpene submarines,” said Macron as quoted by the Jakarta Post.