From Engagement to Acquisition: The Strategic Transformation of Indonesia–Türkiye Defense Cooperation and the Purchase of the KAAN Fighter Jet

Abstract

Abstract

This study examines the gradual transformation of Indonesia–Türkiye defense relations culminating in Indonesia's participation in the KAAN fifth-generation fighter aircraft program. Existing studies predominantly analyze bilateral economic cooperation or defense-industrial development separately, leaving the mechanisms underlying the evolution of strategic partnership insufficiently explained. This research employs a qualitative case study approach using semi-structured interviews, official government documents, defense policy reports, and academic literature. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis supported by source triangulation and interpreted using the frameworks of Complex Interdependence, Defense Diplomacy, and Strategic Autonomy. The findings reveal that Indonesia–Türkiye defense cooperation evolved through four sequential stages: industrial engagement, industrial collaboration, strategic dialogue, and strategic acquisition. Economic interdependence and sustained industrial cooperation fostered institutional trust, facilitated technology transfer, strengthened defense-industrial integration, and enabled high-level strategic coordination, ultimately supporting Indonesia's involvement in the KAAN program. This study proposes a four-stage transformation model that explains how bilateral defense cooperation evolves from economic interaction into a comprehensive strategic partnership. The findings contribute to the literature on defense diplomacy and provide policy insights for strengthening Indonesia's defense industrial capability through long-term international collaboration.