Indonesia announced 11 Su-35s in 2018. Its air force walked away in 2021.

In February 2018, Aviation International News reported a firm Indonesian order for 11 Su-35S fighters. It attributed the account to Defence Ministry spokesman Totok Sugiharto, who said the $1.14bn contract was finalised. Two aircraft were to arrive in August 2018, followed by six 18 months after the contract took effect and three five months later. The report said part of the price would be paid with Indonesian exports including palm oil and rubber.

Three years later, the public account was different. Defense News reported that Air Chief Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo said, “with a heavy heart”, Indonesia would abandon the Su-35 plan and choose between Boeing’s F-15EX and Dassault’s Rafale. He said the Air Force and Defence Ministry wanted two or three squadrons, budget permitting. That report described the Su-35 as selected in 2015 but said negotiations in 2018 had never produced a contract for 11 aircraft.

Those accounts cannot be merged into a neat procurement story. The 2018 report records a ministry spokesman announcing a finalised contract and a delivery schedule. The 2021 report records an air-force chief abandoning the plan while describing the same 2018 process as negotiations without a signed contract. Neither saved report supplies the underlying agreement, a delivery record, or a cancellation notice. The responsible description is a public conflict over the arrangement’s status, followed by Jakarta’s stated decision not to pursue the plan.

Possible US sanctions were part of the 2021 report’s context, not a proven cause. Defense News said Indonesia had not explicitly given that reason, though it said reluctance to conclude the acquisition could have reflected concern about CAATSA. No saved source records a US sanction on Indonesia, a refused licence, a blocked payment or a stopped Su-35 delivery.

The issue was still not closed in Moscow’s account. In October 2025, Jakarta Globe quoted Russian Ambassador Sergei Tolchenov saying the deal was “not cancelled” and “still pending”, with Moscow waiting for Indonesia to resume negotiations. That was the ambassador’s position, not confirmation that Jakarta had reversed its 2021 decision. Indonesia had meanwhile been buying or considering other fighters. The three reports establish an announced 2018 agreement, a 2021 Indonesian retreat, and a 2025 Russian claim of pending status. They do not establish that any Su-35 reached Indonesia.