Fadjar said that the preparation of prospective pilots included determining the criteria for recruiting. He ensured that the Indonesian Air Force would appoint soldiers who were deemed fit to ride the Rafale.
Later, prospective Rafale pilots will undergo training in France, the Rafale manufacturing country. Apart from France, this exercise will also be held domestically. "The training itself will be carried out in France and domestically," he added.
Dassault Rafale’s Pros and Cons
Quoted from Kompas.com, the Rafale can be used for a variety of missions including interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence. This is why the Rafale is known as the “ömnirole” (all-rounder) fighter made by the Dassault aircraft manufacturer.
The aircraft, which appeared for the first time in 2001, has been used by the French Air Force (AU) and Navy (AL), the Indian Air Force, the Egyptian Air Force and the Qatar Air Force. Until the end of 2021, it was recorded that 237 Rafale aircraft had been produced.
In this combat operation, two types of Rafale aircraft are known to be active, namely the ordinary type which takes off and lands from standard aerodromes on land, and those based on aircraft carriers.
Until now, France has not intended to equip its fighter arsenal with the F-35 JSF, although the Rafale itself is still a 4th generation fighter, one level below the F-35 which is already in the 5th generation category.
Unfortunately, this aircraft does not fully have the capability as a stealth aircraft, aka stealth aircraft, so that it is not caught on the enemy's air defense (hanud) radar screen.
Indonesia ordered on the right time
Meanwhile, the former Air Force Chief of Staff (KSAU) Marshal (Purn) Chappy Hakim assessed that the purchase of 42 fighter jets from the Dassault Aviation manufacturer was carried out at the right time.
According to him, the purchase of this 4.5 generation fighter jet is appropriate because fighter aircraft companies in the world are currently intensively doing warehouse clearance.