You can not sell a fighter plane when it is not ready. It is not credible and logical for a country to buy a fighter jet when it is still being developed.
Kaan still needs extensive tests and is no where near ready as a fighter. It’s avionics, radar and structure still needs many improvements and verifications of the technologies to be used on it.
Even as a 4.5 generation plane it is not ready. Hell! Even the f110 engines’ arrival are suspect.
Domestic prototype engine manufacturing is not even started yet.
No country on earth will buy outright such an unfinished plane, no matter whoever is claiming it so!
If they said that Indonesia has been accepted as a partner in to the program who will actively help developing it and also committing to purchase 48 planes in the end. That is credible and conceivable.
Indonesia doesn’t have a very good track record. Due to non payment of their part of the Boramae project, they are at the verge of being kicked out of the program. If memory serves, they have a 7.5% stake in the program now.
They had a contract to buy SU35s from Russia. They went back on it due to Caatsa threat.
They signed a contract for Rafale purchase. Now there are news that they are cancelling it and are signing a contract for buying from Chinese stocks same number of J10Cs.
They had signed a contract with US to purchase F15EX fighters. There are news that this too is in jeopardy.
What ever contract they signed with Turkey, is not worth the paper it is written on.
As you said, this is just an MOU, which covers cooperation between Indonesia and Turkey in developing KAAN. For some reason, the Turkish media and people in the Turkish government are exaggerating this agreement, treating it as if it were a contract.
Jakarta, IDM - Indonesia dan Turki menandatangani nota kesepahaman atau memorandum of understanding (MoU) kerja sama pengembangan jet tempur generasi
indonesiadefense.com
By the way, there are a few corrections to your statement above. The Rafale has not been canceled, it's already in the DA backlog and will be delivered in early 2026. Jakarta is even interested in adding a few dozen more Rafales.
(Saint-Cloud, January 8, 2024) – The final tranche of 18 Rafale for Indonesia came into force today. © Dassault Aviation – C. Cosmao
www.dassault-aviation.com
As for the J-10, there is a rumor that Jakarta will purchase 42 used J-10s from China, but this has nothing to do with the Rafale. This rumor has been around since last year.
Since taking up office, Indonesia's new president has been solicited by countries interested in selling their military wares to Jakarta, from Russia and China to the US and France. - 11/11/2024
www.intelligenceonline.com
As for the SU-35, that's still a rumor, but what's certain is that the contract for this fighter jet has only been postponed, possibly while waiting for CAATSA relief.
Lastly, the F-15EX procurement is still at the MOU stage, just like the KAAN case. There is no contract yet, nor has it reached the LOA stage.
boeing.mediaroom.com