Dassault Rafale EI

The Rafale EI is the single-seat version of the Rafale for the Indonesian Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara, TNI AU); its two-seat counterpart is the Rafale DI. Both designations follow Dassault Aviation's export scheme, in which E denotes the single-seater and D the two-seater, followed by the customer's initial. All the Indonesian aircraft were ordered to the F4 standard, the latest Rafale standard at the time of signature.

The road to the contract was a long one. In March 2015 Jakarta publicly showed its interest by inviting two Rafales to stop over in the country, but that same year the government announced the purchase of 11 Sukhoi Su-35s to replace part of its F-5E fleet. The Su-35 contract was finalised in February 2018 at a cost of 1.14 billion dollars and was cancelled on 13 March 2020 under pressure from the United States. In January 2020 the Indonesian government had already expressed interest in up to 48 Rafales to modernise its air force, and on 3 December 2020 La Tribune reported that Indonesia wanted to finalise a deal for that number quickly. At the end of February 2021 Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto announced a large, already funded procurement programme that included 36 Rafales alongside A330 tankers and American-built equipment. On 7 June 2021 Indonesia signed a letter of intent for 36 Rafales with associated weapons and support, and on 20 January 2022 Prabowo confirmed that the contract negotiations had been completed.

On 10 February 2022, at a ceremony in Jakarta attended by French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly and Prabowo Subianto, Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Éric Trappier and Air Vice Marshal Yusuf Jauhari signed the contract for 42 Rafale F4s. According to the French-language Wikipedia, the deal was worth more than seven billion euros and also covered pilot training and logistic support. Sources disagree on the split between single-seaters and two-seaters: the English and Indonesian Wikipedias, citing Dassault's announcement, give 26 single-seat EIs and 16 two-seat DIs, whereas the French Wikipedia gives 30 single-seaters and 12 two-seaters.

The contract came into force in tranches as Indonesia made its payments. The first, for six aircraft, was activated in September 2022 after a first down payment. On 10 August 2023 Dassault announced that the second tranche of 18 aircraft had come into force, bringing the total under contract to 24, and on 8 January 2024 it stated that the third and final tranche of 18 aircraft completed the 42 on order.

Ahead of deliveries, the TNI AU sent four fighter pilots and twelve technicians to France in early August 2025 to begin Rafale training, and Dassault also handed over a simulation and training centre. Indonesia formally received its first three Rafales on 28 November 2025 in a ceremony at a Dassault facility in Bordeaux. The aircraft arrived at Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force Base in Pekanbaru (Riau province, on the island of Sumatra) on 23 January 2026; defence ministry spokesman Rico Ricardo Sirait said they had been handed over and were ready for use by the air force. Another three arrived in May 2026, and the first six were formally accepted into service on 18 May. The sources consulted do not state how many of those six aircraft are single-seat EIs and how many are two-seat DIs.

The Indonesian Rafales belong to the 31st Air Wing. The first unit to receive them is the 12th Air Squadron ("Black Panther"), at Roesmin Nurjadin since 2026; the 16th Air Squadron ("Rydders"), at the same base, and the 1st Air Squadron ("Equatorial Eagles"), at Supadio Air Force Base in Pontianak, are planned to follow. From Sumatra, the aircraft cover the western part of the archipelago, close to the approaches to the Strait of Malacca.

The Rafale joins a mixed fleet that already included American F-16s and Russian Su-27s and Su-30s. During President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Indonesia on 28 May 2025, the two countries signed a letter of intent for the purchase of various military equipment, including an undisclosed number of additional Rafales; La Tribune spoke of "a dozen", and French media reported on 4 July that the figure could reach 24. Those possible additional aircraft are not part of the 42-aircraft contract.