(This June 14 story has been corrected to say that the Mirage 2000s first flew in the 1980s, not 1967, in paragraph 5)
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia confirmed on Wednesday it had bought 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets previously used by Qatar, defending the nearly $800 million deal as a fast way to upgrade the air force after it was criticised by lawmakers who said the planes were too old.
The defence ministry said in a statement that Indonesia had signed the deal for 733 million euros ($792 million) with Excalibur International a.s., a unit of Czech defence company Czechoslovak Group (CSG) in January. The planes would be delivered within 24 months of that date.
The deal, for nine jets with single seats and three with double seats, was first reported earlier on Wednesday by Indonesian media, who quoted lawmakers raising doubts about it.
“What is so urgent that we had to buy used and old jets?” the newspaper Kompas quoted lawmaker Tubagus Hasanuddin as saying.
The first Mirage 2000s flew in the 1980s, according to the website of manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
The ministry did not mention the age of the jets. It said they will come with three years of support service and pilot training.
“Indonesia needs fighter jets that could be delivered quickly to cover for the decline of combat readiness in the Indonesian Air Force’s fleet,” Edwin Adrian Sumantha, spokesperson for the defence ministry, said in a statement.
The country has long been seeking to overhaul its ageing air fleet which includes U.S.-made F-16 and Russian Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30 jets.
The ministry said plans to replace its F-5 Tiger jets with Su-35 had been hampered by U.S. sanctions on Russia, adding that Jakarta has other plans to upgrade its fleet but that will take some time.
Indonesia announced plans to purchase 11 Su-35 jets from Russia in 2017, which it had intended to pay with cash and Indonesian commodities.
The country secured a deal to order 42 Rafale fighter jets for $8.1 billion in February. A planned purchase of F-15 fighter jets is also in advanced stages and awaiting final sign-off from the government, defence minister Prabowo Subianto said last year.
($1 = 0.9256 euros)
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Gayatri Suroyo and Peter Graff)