Indonesia has bought 12 new drones from Turkish Aerospace worth $300 million, its defense ministry said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of purchases aimed at modernizing the country’s aging military equipment.

The deal comes after Indonesian President Joko Widodo in July warned his cabinet to maintain a “healthy” budget as he highlighted outsized spending by the country’s security agencies, including the defence ministry.

In January, Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto sealed an $800-million deal to buy 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets, which drew criticism as they were considered too old. Indonesia in February also bought 42 Rafale fighter jets for $8.1 billion, which will be disbursed in phases over several years.

At 134.3 trillion rupiah ($8.89 billion), the defense ministry has the biggest allocation from the country’s total budget this year, according to government data.

The deal with Anakara-based Turkish Aerospace was reportedly finalized in February, and…

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Source: dronexl.co