Fighter Deal Opens Path to Drone Teaming

Indonesia has signed a contract to procure 12 Leonardo M-346F Block 20 light combat aircraft. The acquisition delivers an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar equipped, Link 16-capable platform at trainer operating costs. Indonesia also became the first export customer for Baykar's Bayraktar Kizilelma UAV this year, creating a pathway for crewed-uncrewed teaming capabilities through the Air Force's training pipeline, according to GlobalData.

According to GlobalData's report, "The Global Military Fixed-Wing Aircraft Market Forecast 2026–2036," Indonesia is expected to spend approximately $25.3 billion on fixed-wing aircraft procurement between 2026 and 2036, with trainer and light attack platforms accounting for 4.5% of that outlay.

Harsh Deshmukh, Aerospace and Defense Analyst at GlobalData, said: “Leonardo and Baykar have successfully completed live flight trials under their K-SWARM project, pairing a crewed Leonardo M-346 jet with an uncrewed Baykar Kızılelma combat drone. No other country has committed to both platforms. Should Indonesia pursue this pairing, its pilots would gain experience managing an autonomous wingman during lead-in fighter training. An additional interoperability advantage arises from the shared Italian avionics standard present in both the trainer and the Turkish uncrewed platform, giving Jakarta a control architecture across two supplier relationships.”

The new M-346F aircraft will replace Indonesia's existing Hawk squadrons and feature the Grifo E600 AESA radar, a system more capable than the AN/APG-68 fitted onto the country's F-16 Block 52 jets.