JAKARTA, Aug 22 Reuters Indonesia39;s defence ministry and U.S. planemaker Boeing have signed an agreement on the sale of 24 F15EX fighter jets to help modernise the Southeast Asian country39;s ageing fleet, the ministry and the company said.

Officials from the ministry and a Boeing executive signed the memorandum of understanding at Boeing39;s St. Louis, Missouri, facility on Monday, Boeing said, though it underscored that the transaction was subject to U.S. government approval.

This stateoftheart fighter will protect and secure our nation with its advanced capabilities, Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto said, according to Boeing39;s statement.

Boeing and the defence ministry did not provide details on the deal39;s value.

The F15EX is the most advanced version of the F15, with digital flybywire flight controls, a new electronic warfare system, a digital cockpit, and the latest mission systems and software capabilities, Boeing said.

Prabowo and his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, discussed the planned procurement during Austin39;s visit to Jakarta last year.

Indonesia has increased its defence spending in recent years to overhaul its fleet, which includes U.Smade F16 and Russian Sukhoi Su27 and Su30 jets.

This year, Jakarta bought 42 Dassault Rafale fighter jets for 8.1 billion.

It has also purchased 12 used Mirage 20005 fighter jets in an 800 million deal that drew criticism as the aircraft were considered too old.

Last year, the U.S. has also…