Indonesian military got three new Sukhoi jet fighters from Russia on Monday in an effort to boost defense capacity following a series of deadly accidents caused by outdated military aircraft, the Jakarta Post said here Tuesday.

The country now has totally 7 Sukhoi model fighters, all of which were purchased from Russia through a credit scheme.

Indonesian Defense Ministry secretary general Let. General Sjafrie Syamsuddin represented the Indonesian government at a ceremony welcoming the jet fighters at the Sultan Hasanuddin Air Force base in Makassar, South Sulawesi. The Russian Ambassador to Indonesia, Alexander Ivanov, represented Russia.

The secretary general said that Indonesia was expecting to receive another three planes by August to completely equip its Makassar squadron with the responsibility of overseeing the vast eastern archipelago of Indonesia.

Indonesian air force officials inspect a Russian Sukhoi Su-30MK2 multi-functional fighter jet during a handover ceremony in Makassar February 2, 2009. Indonesia has received three more new fighter jets from Russia on Monday and they will be stationed in Makassar, an airforce official said
Indonesia purchased the planes from Russia through a seven-year credit scheme at a total price of 335 million U.S. dollars for seven jet fighters, but does not have to start making payments for five years.

Ambassador Ivanov said although the deal partly came about as a result of good relations between Russian and Indonesian, and the transaction was purely commercial.

Source:Xinhua