Indonesia, once considered the first export customer of the F-15EX Eagle II multirole fighter manufactured by Boeing (USA), has officially given up the intention to buy this aircraft line. The actual agreement has stalled for about two years.
Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the aviation exhibition taking place from February 3-8, 2026 in Singapore, Mr. Bernd Peters - Vice President in charge of business development and strategy of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, confirmed that the F-15EX program for Indonesia "is no longer a campaign being pursued by Boeing".
The reasons for this decision have not yet been clarified. Boeing said that the related issues are under the authority of the Governments of Indonesia and the United States, the two sides that implement the program under the mechanism of selling weapons to foreign countries.
Previously, in February 2022, the US State Department approved the possibility of selling Indonesia a F-15EX variant named F-15ID. By August 2023, the deal was considered completed when Jakarta officially committed to buying a maximum of 24 aircraft. The Indonesian version was then renamed F-15IND.
A memorandum of understanding on the procurement was signed in St. Louis, Missouri, where the F-15 production line is located. The then Indonesian Defense Minister, Mr. Prabowo Subianto, also attended the event and directly visited the assembly line. He once emphasized that the F-15EX is a modern fighter, playing an important role in protecting Indonesia's national security.
It is not yet clear whether Indonesia plans to buy any other fighter lines to replace the F-15EX. However, it is noteworthy that the decision to approve the sale of the US F-15 was made just hours after Indonesia announced its plan to buy 42 Rafale multirole fighters from France. The handover of Rafale has now begun.
At that time, many opinions suggested that Washington was trying to persuade Jakarta to build a mixed fighter force including F-15 and Rafale. However, this scenario did not seem to have come true. The total cost of the F-15 deal has never been announced in detail, but the cost and production progress may be factors that Indonesia needs to reconsider.
Even without buying F-15EX, the Indonesian Air Force is still building one of the most modern and capable fighter forces in Southeast Asia. In addition to Rafale, this country is currently operating a mixed-use fighter manufactured by the US and Russia.
The F-16 squadron includes about 8 F-16A/B Block 15 OCUs still in operation, along with 23 upgraded F-16C/Ds. Indonesia also owns many Su-27 and Su-30 variants manufactured by Russia.
In the long term, Indonesia is expected to buy about 50 new generation KF-21 fighters, a cooperation program with South Korea, in which an Indonesian defense enterprise holds 20% of shares.
For Boeing, Indonesia's withdrawal is a significant blow, although somewhat compensated when Israel signed a contract to buy 25 F-15IA fighters at the end of last year. These aircraft are based on the F-15EX platform. Boeing said it will continue to cooperate with Indonesia in existing programs, such as the AH-64 Apache helicopter fleet.
Meanwhile, the future of the F-15EX in the US Air Force is assessed more positively, with plans to expand the number according to the 2026 fiscal year budget proposal.
Indonesia's suspension of plans to buy F-15EX fighters is said to stem from many combined factors, notably budget pressure and changes in equipment priorities. The F-15EX belongs to the heavy fighter group, with high purchase and operation costs, while Indonesia is simultaneously implementing many major programs such as receiving 42 Rafale fighters from France.
