Indonesia Defence Forum

[MarveL]

:clingakclinguk: masi rame ya? ga sempet OL lagi dimarih...

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

Russia Ready to Embrace Indonesia Works on Drone

Russia ready to cooperate with Indonesia to develop a UAV to monitor maritime areas. To monitor the maritime regions like Indonesia needed large-type UAV HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) (photo: aiononline)

JAKARTA - The issue of drone has soar itself to the Indonesian defense matter in the last presidential debates Sunday night. Of the issue, Russia is ready to embrace Indonesia to cooperate in developing drones that could be used to monitor the Indonesian maritime territory.

Russia's readiness to cooperate with Indonesia in developing drones Russian Ambassador to Indonesia, Mikhail Y Galuzin. Said according to him, Russia and Indonesia have long worked in the field of advanced weapon system. Whoever is elected president of Indonesia later, he hoped to continue cooperation with Russian defense equipment.

"If we (Russia) get proposals from Indonesia to cooperate in the development of drones, of course we would be very happy to cooperate," said Galuzin, when found Sindonews, Tuesday (24/06/2014).

Galuzin admit Russia has some drone. But, he said the use of drones is very rarely done by Russia. He said Russia is only using drones in important matters, which do require the government approval to deploy drones.

The issues of drones to monitor maritime areas stand out, when both candidates Indonesia, namely Prabowo and Joko Widodo convey the vision and mission of an argument about the Indonesian defense equipment. Joko Widodo raises the issue of drones to monitor and protect the Indonesian maritime territory.

(SindoNews)

With Rheinmetall help, PINDAD Build Leopard Ammunition Plant for Asia

MBT Leopard II for TNI-AD (photo: Detik)

Unterluss - There is a strategic intent by the government in the procurement of 180 units of Leopard tanks and Marder, products made by Rheinmetall of Germany. It turns out the government's purchase of heavy tanks is not just shopping, but also intended for Pindad development in the future.

Therefore, in reviewing the plant to Rheinmetall in Unterluss, Germany, Deputy Secretary of Defense (Wamen) Sjafrie invites and president director of PT PINDAD Sudirman Said. Hopefully, Sudirman Said newly inaugurated in early June it could hear and see how Rheinmetall produced Leopard and can immediately realize cooperation agreement between Rheinmetall and Pindad which have been previously signed.

"Cooperation is not only to buy weapons, but there is a transfer of technology to build the capacity of the domestic defense industry," said Sjafrie in a press conference after a symbolic handover of Marder and Leopard tanks in the first phase on the plant Rheinmetall, Unterluss, Monday (06/23/2014) afternoon.

According to Sjafrie, Rheinmetall will joint with Pindad to develop large-caliber ammunition factory, so the ammunition Leopard which has 120 mm canon can be produced in Indonesia. In fact, on further analysis Sjafrie said, Pindad would later become the center of Leopard ammunition distribution throughout Asia.

"This has been a strategic target in our procurement. Not only do we buy weapons, but also learn to build one, so that the independence of the defense industry can support our defense capabilities. We are independent, and free from the restriction of the possibilities abroad," he said .

When asked when are Pindad going to build a factory for Leopard ammunition, Sjafrie states related cooperation MoU has been signed. "So it will gradually started by activities between PINDAD and Rheinmetall CEO," said Sjafrie.

On cooperation with Rheinmetall, it is expected the technical quality of Indonesian domestic defense industry will also be improved. "If when Indonesia could perform in the Asian market, we could become a regional power in the defense industry market.'s" he stated.

Local Content for Leopard

In making of Leopard for Indonesia, PT Pindad that had been experienced in making tanks and APCs Anoa, will also be involved in the installation of several parts, including the cooling system and communication system. This involvement is part of the effort to find a value-added benefit for Indonesian and technology transfer.

"So, the parts that have not been installed in Germany, will be installed at Pindad, its related local content. If we buy weapons, we must think about how the domestic defense industry to value added. Well one of the value-added that is activity-engineering activities that have not been done here will be done in Pindad. We do not remove the charge, because it was part of the contract, "said Sjafrie.

(Detik)

 

[MarveL]

Yudhoyono playing around with the military academy's march band. In few months ahead he will retired as President.

 

[katarabhumi]

TNI Navy freed a hijacked ship in Flores Sea.

TNI Navy successfully intercept and freed a Taiwanese flagged vessel which was hijacked by its own crew.

The ship named FN Kuo Rong 333, was hijacked in Solomon Island and lost contact. The ship was reported had enter Indonesian waters on June 19th through north Papua sea.

Report of the missing ship had reach Eastern Fleet Command of Indonesian Navy. The Navy predicted the route of the ship and then dispatched KRI Keris and a patrol aircraft to find it in Flores Sea.

Navy patrol aircraft which was already on a patrol routine in the area was able to spot the ship and sent the coordinate to KRI Keris. FN Kuo Rong 333 was intercepted at 57 miles off coast Lembata Island on June 25th 2014. The ship with its 12 crew was then detained in Naval base in Lombok for further investigation process.

KOARMATIM BERHASIL MENGAMANKAN KAPAL TAIWAN FN.KUO RONG No.333 YANG DIDUGA DIBAJAK DI SAMUDRA PASIFIK > W E B S I T E - T N I A L > Seremonial

 

[katarabhumi]

Indonesian SAMs break cover, promising enhanced anti-UAV capability
Nick Brown, Editor, IDR, Millbrook Proving Ground - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
25 June 2014

The new Land Rover-based surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems destined for Indonesia went on public display for the first time at the Defence Vehicle Dynamics (DV) exhibition at Millbrook Proving Ground on 25 June.

Indonesia ordered the Thales Starstreak SAMs as part of a wider ForceShield air defence package in January 2014 and is understood to have subsequently signed up to acquire Thales' Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) in mid-June. Both missiles share a similar physical footprint and are virtually identical from the warhead back, with exactly the same physical connector on their canisters to link into the pedestal mount, enabling the weapons to be carried in mixed loads.

LMM is primarily an anti-surface weapon - it has been selected for the UK's new Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Light) requirement, for example - but it also offers a limited air-defence capability. Warrant Officer Graham Chastell, a member of the UK Defence And Security Organisation's Export Support Group, told IHS Jane's that the weapon's shaped charge/blast fragmentation warhead offers a better capability against small unmanned aerial vehicles and slow helicopters than the triple-hittile Starstreak.

Three ready-to-fire weapons are carried on a pedestal mounted on Land Rover 110 twin-cab vehicles, outfitted for the role by Hobson Industries. Modifications include building a flat loadbed with fold-out sides to increase the operator area, mechanical stabilisers to steady the platform and limited shielding on the rear of the cab. The Land Rover's traditional cargo area is retained beneath the firing platform, offering storage for six missile reloads and other spares.

Thales refused to specify any delivery dates or discuss build numbers, citing customer confidentiality. However, an Indonesian defence source told IHS Jane's earlier in the year that "the British system consists of five batteries costing USD170 million. Funds have been allocated for both, but the systems have yet to be delivered."

Indonesia's new Starstreak SAM vehicles have been outfitted by Hobson Industries and offer space for six canisterised reloads beneath the firing platform. (IHS/Patrick Allen)

DVD 2014: Indonesian SAMs break cover, promising enhanced anti-UAV capability - IHS Jane's 360

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[Nike]

Eurocopter Tiger Siap Tampil Di HUT TNI
Yesterday 23:19
Upacara kebesaran HUT ke-69 TNI akan menjadi ajang pertama bagi 'macan' baru TNI memperkenalkan diri kepada warga Indonesia. Macan itu sedang dalam tahap akhir persiapkan fisik di benua Eropa.

Macan itu adalah helikopter serang Eurocopter Tiger H61. Mereka akan melengkapi helikopter serbu MI 35 danApache memperkuat TNI AD. Selain itu ada tiga kapal fregat multifungsi untuk TNI AL yang sedang dibangun di Manchester, Inggris.

"Seluruh alutsista yang baru ini akan ikut dalam peringatan Hari TNI 5 Oktober," kata Wamenhan Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin di Paris, Jumat (26/6/2014).

Wamenhan berkunjung ke Paris bersama rombongan Komite Kebijakan Industri Pertahanan. Selain itu mereka ke Belanda juga untuk memastikan perkembangan seluruh alutsista yang dipesan Indonesia untuk jajaran TNI.

"Saat ini seluruh pesanan itu sudah dalam tahap akhir dan akan segera dikirim secara bertahap ke Indonesia," sambung matan Pangdam Jaya ini.

Sjafrie merasa puas karena selain pembelian alutsista ada banyak tawaran bagi pengembangan kerja sama industri pertahanan. Terutama untuk Pindad yang terbuka peluang bagi pengembangan panser Anoa serta kendaraan tempur dan amunisi lainnya.

Bersama Dirut Pindad Sudirman Said, Wamenhan bertemu juga Presiden Volvo Group, Stefano Chmielewski untuk membicarakan pasokan mesin Renault sebagai sumber tenaga Panser Anoa. "Pindad sudah memproduksi 250 unit panser kebutuhan TNI AD. Sekarang Pindad mempunyai kesempatan untuk memasok 250 unit lainnya dan Renault bersepakat untuk memasok kebutuhan mesinnya," kata Sjafrie.

TNI Perkenalkan 'Macan' dalam HUT ke-69 | Metrotvnews.com

Eurocopter Tiger Ready to Perform At TNI anniversary
Yesterday 23:19
Ceremony of the 69th Anniversary of the greatness of the military will be the first event for 'tiger' new TNI introduce myself to the people of Indonesia. The Tigers are in the final stages of preparing physically in continental Europe.

The tiger is the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters H61. They will complement the MI 35 attack helicopters and Apache strengthen the army. In addition there are three multifunctional frigates for the Navy being built in Manchester, England.

"All this new defense equipment will participate in the military's Day October 5," said Wamenhan Sjafrie in Paris, Friday (26/06/2014).

Wamenhan visit to Paris with a group of Defence Industry Policy Committee. In addition they are also for the Netherlands to ensure the development of all defense equipment ordered Indonesia to the ranks of the military.

"Currently, all orders that are already in the final stages and will be delivered in stages to Indonesia," said Matan Pangdam Jaya.

Sjafrie was satisfied that in addition to the purchase of defense equipment there are many offers for the development of defense industrial cooperation. Especially for PINDAD open opportunities for the development of Anoa APCs and combat vehicles and other ammunition.

Joint Managing Director PINDAD Sudirman Said, Wamenhan met also President of Volvo Group, Stefano Chmielewski to discuss the supply of Renault engines as a power source Panzer Anoa. "PINDAD already producing 250 units of the armored vehicles the Army needs. PINDAD now have the opportunity to supply other units 250 and Renault agreed to supply the needs of the engine," said Sjafrie.

Hmm, it is what we call logistics nightmare

BTW, TNI AD has ordered another 250 of Anoa Panser APC, although small but it is a great deal for our military industries

 

[Nike]

Indonesian CAESAR SPH Ready to delivered

Soon we can retire the oldies like this M-30 ex WW II from armed forces Inventory and M-76 Yugoslavian relics

 

[nufix]

Indonesian CAESAR SPH Ready to delivered


Soon we can retire the oldies like this M-30 ex WW II from armed forces Inventory and M-76 Yugoslavian relics

Or we can form a mountain division and equip them with these light arties

 

[katarabhumi]

USS Pinckney, KRI Slamet Riyadi conduct CARAT Indonesia 2014 Training Exercise

SOUTH CHINA SEA – The guided missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) and the Indonesian navy frigate KRI Slamet Riyadi (F 352) conducted a two-day training exercise, also known as a passing exercise (PASSEX), June 24.

The exercise, which occurred as both ships transited across the southernmost part of the South China Sea, covered several naval competencies including, flashing light, flaghoist and bridge-to-bridge communication drills, shipboard maneuvering, gunnery exercises, and a brief personnel exchange. During tactical maneuvering drills, crews practiced Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) safety protocols.

“Passing exercises like this one are modest in scale, but are a highly effective way to sharpen essential maritime skills and develop professional relationships with our partners in Southeast Asia,” said Capt. Fred Kacher, deputy commander of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7 embarked on Pinckney.

Following a very successful diving exercise on the wreck of USS Houston (CA 30) from June 9-12, this PASSEX is the second of three separate focused training events taking place as part of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Indonesia. The third event, a cyber exercise, will take place in Jakarta.

In its 20th year, CARAT, which continues through late 2014, is a bilateral exercise series designed to address shared maritime security priorities and concerns, strengthen navy-to-navy relationships and enhance interoperability among participating forces. The Indonesian navy (TNI-AL) has been part of the exercise since it began in 1995, and this year's CARAT PASSEX is just one aspect of ongoing navy-to-navy cooperation.

DVIDS - News - USS Pinckney, KRI Slamet Riyadi conduct CARAT Indonesia 2014 Training Exercise

 

[Indos]

Amunisi Meriam Caesar 155 Akan Diproduksi PT Pindad
Pindad will produce Caesar 155 Cannon Amunition

26 Juni 2014


Amunisi meriam Caesar 155 mm (all photos : Detik)

Roanne – Sambil menyelam minum air. Itulah yang dilakukan Kementerian Pertahanan (Kemhan) dalam pengadaan modernisasi alutsista Indonesia. Membeli senjata, tidak hanya sekadar membeli, tapi juga menyerap teknologi. Sebagai contoh, dalam pembelian meriam Caesar 155 yang memiliki daya tembak 39 KM, Indonesia juga memiliki kerjasama dengan Nexter untuk memproduksi amunisinya bersama PT Pindad.

Bagaimana rupa amunisi berkaliber 155 mm itu? detikcom berkesempatan melihat dan mencoba mengangkat amunisi berwarna hijau di bagian batangnya dan hitam di pucuknya itu. Wow! Sangat berat, berbobot 47 kg. Untuk membopongnya harus menggunakan dua tangan.
Amunisi berbentuk runcing ini terbagi menjadi dua. Bagian pertama adalah bagian tabung yang berisi mesiu. Bagian kedua adalah sumbu (fuse) yang terletak di bagian ujung yang runcing. Di bagian sumbu ini terdapat timer – berisi angka-angka -, untuk menetapkan kapan amunisi itu meledak setelah didorong oleh meriam.

Beberapa contoh amunisi meriam Caesar 155 ini dihadirkan saat penyerahan 4 Caesar 155 di ruang workshop pabrik Nexter di Roanne, Prancis, Rabu (25/6/2014). Wamenhan Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin juga sempat berdiri lama melihat amunisi dan berbincang serius dengan pihak Nexter.


Sjafrie telah mengingatkan Nexter agar segera dibahas mengenai koordinasi dalam pembuatan amunisi itu bersama PT Pindad, sebagai bagian dari kesepakatan yang telah ditandatangani. Saat diingatkan hal ini, M Mike Duckworth, Executive Vice President International Affairs Nexter, menyatakan sangat memahami hal ini dan siap melaksanakannya.

“Tentunya ke depan kita akan kerjasama, Pindad akan berperan dalam membuat amunisi. Inilah target kemandirian industri pertahanan kita. Kita beli senjata, beli amunisi, kita pelajari juga bagaimana membuat amunisi. Mudah-mudahan 5 tahun ke depan Pindad sudah bisa membuat amunisi kaliber besar untuk meriam 155 mm dan bagaimana membuat amunisi besar untuk artileri lain,” kata Sjafrie.

Sebelum meninggalkan pabrik Nexter, Sjafrie juga sempat berbincang serius dengan Duckworth dan mengundang Dirut PT Pindad Sudirman Said dan Danpusenarmed Brigjen TNI Sonhadji. Dalam perbincangan itu, lagi-lagi Sjafrie mengingatkan Nexter agar segera berkoordinasi dengan Pindad dalam kerjasama membuat amunisi. Sudirman Said sebagai dirut Pindad dan Duckworth menegaskan siap untuk berkoordinasi.

Seperti diketahui, Indonesia membeli 37 unit Caesar 155 dengan biaya US$ 141 juta. Harga ini sudah termasuk dengan 2.000 amunisinya. Caesar 155 merupakan meriam berdaya tembak 39 KM yang terangkut truk, sehingga bisa lebih cepat bergerak.
(Detik)

 

[Indos]

International Business
Indonesian Arms Industry Seeks to Drum Up Business
By JOE COCHRANE
FEB. 13, 2014

Photo

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, center, with a South Korean-built T-50i light fighter jet. Credit Adek
Berry/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

SINGAPORE — While the Indonesian government is snubbing the Singapore Airshow this week, the country’s main military manufacturer is using it as an opportunity for a coming-out party, with staff members in orange flight suits courting potential buyers.

The showing for the state-owned manufacturer, Indonesian Aerospace, which almost collapsed after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, represents a new sense of optimism that has not been seen in the country’s domestic military sector since the 1980s.

“I think they’ve been doing good just to sustain their operations and production in recent years,” said Lis Gindarsah, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Indonesia’s military industry nearly collapsed in the late 1990s, when the nation’s economy contracted a staggering 16 percent, leading to sharp budget and work force cuts by Indonesian military and aviation manufacturers. The Indonesian military also suffered when the United States imposed a ban on arms sales to the country after gross human rights violations by its military in East Timor in 1999.

The ban was not fully lifted until 2010 and exposed the need for Indonesia’s military to get up to speed.

A major reason for the comeback now is Indonesia’s president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who vowed to modernize the country’s military and has nearly quadrupled the state arms budget to more than $8 billion since taking office in 2004. Under a 2012 law pushed by the president, the Indonesian military, known as the T.N.I., must buy all of its weaponry, with some exceptions, from domestic contractors, both state-owned and private.

International events like the Singapore Airshow, Asia’s largest air show, are providing more opportunities for Indonesian military contractors to sell both military and civilian hardware.

Indonesian Aerospace, also known as Dirgantara Indonesia, has been promoting its $26 million-plus CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft for antisubmarine warfare at Singapore’s exhibition, from which Indonesia withdrew over a diplomatic spat. On Wednesday, the company signed a collaboration agreement with Airbus Helicopters to promote and sell aircraft in Southeast Asia and carry out maintenance for their users, said Budiman Saleh, the Indonesian Aerospace director for commerce and restructuring.

“We are working closely with our friends from European countries and the United States to win some sales campaigns in this region,” Mr. Budiman said.

Indonesian Aerospace is proceeding with plans this year to build fighter aircraft jointly with South Korea. And although it had yet to close any deals this week, the government agreed last month to sell two multipurpose aircraft to the Philippine Air Force for 813 million pesos, or $18.1 million, with a further six in the pipeline, he said.

“We are now doing great as a result of the restructuring of the company’s balance sheet, equity, business operation, product portfolio and many other reasons,” Mr. Budiman said.

Continue reading the main story
Although the Indonesian armed forces will account for about 80 percent of all purchases of locally produced weaponry, the country’s National Police will also be a buyer, and hopes are high for more regional buyers, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Indonesia’s deputy defense minister, said in an interview.

The company and the industry are coming back from the brink with help from Mr. Yudhoyono. A retired three-star army general, he made military spending a priority.

Indonesia’s military industry has had a rocky history, including periods during which it was run by Dutch and Japanese colonialists. In the late 1990s, when military and aviation manufacturers cut back, Indonesian Aerospace shut down most of its assembly lines in Bandung, the capital of West Java Province, and laid off about 12,000 workers.

Another state-run arms manufacturer, Pindad, which makes weapons and ammunition including bullets, machine guns and armored personnel carriers, lost more than one-third of its work force. Today the machinery at its plant, also in Bandung, looks much as it did during the 1980s.

The ban on arms sales revealed problems with Indonesia’s military. Among them was that many of its C-130 transport planes, built by the giant American company Lockheed Martin, were grounded because the military was unable to buy spare parts.

“The conclusion was that we had to revitalize our defense industries,” Mr. Sjafrie said. “For years we had an embargo; we don’t want to repeat history again.”

While Indonesia itself is not participating in the Singapore show, international events like it are helping to showcase Indonesian military contractors.

The companies must meet requirements set by the government — like meeting budgets and maintaining technical capabilities — and in exchange, Jakarta promotes them at shows and in the course of bilateral relations with other countries, Mr. Sjafrie said.

The Indonesian government in 2012 also injected a combined 3 trillion rupiah, or about $250 million, into Indonesian Aerospace and the state-owned ship builder PAL Indonesia, based in the eastern Java port city of Surabaya, for factory upgrades and to turn debts into equity. The hope is that the policy overhaul will bring new and expanded business to the domestic arms industry. Pindad, for example, booked a profit of 80 billion rupiah in 2012 and was projecting a profit of 90 billion rupiah for 2013.

“I think it’s a good chance for the defense industry,” said Wahyu Utomo, Pindad’s director. “We can manage our resources and our money, if we know the long-term spending program of the T.N.I. It’s become our guidance.”

Under Mr. Yudhoyono’s military policy, a special committee was formed in 2013 to coordinate domestic production for the military, in particular manufacture of combat and special-use vehicles, warships and submarines, fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, and light and heavy weaponry.

Indonesian military contractors are also producing or negotiating agreements with military suppliers from several countries on joint production of weaponry so Indonesia can gain access to advanced technology. Potential projects include production of submarines with Daewoo Shipbuilding of South Korea, a medium tank with FNSS Savunma Sistemleri of Turkey, antiship missiles with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, and vehicle-fixed rocket launchers with MBDA of France.

Late last year, Pindad completed assembly of 11 Panser armored vehicles whose parts were manufactured by Doosan Infracore of South Korea, in a deal worth $169 million.

Pindad officials said they were hoping to sign an agreement this year with AM General, the American heavy vehicle manufacturer that produces the HMMWV, or Humvee, to supply components to Indonesia.

The Malaysian armed forces are negotiating to buy 32 armored personnel carriers from Pindad for $10 million and $14 million each, and the Brunei military is also interested in buying, Mr. Sjafrie said.

It remains to be seen whether Indonesia’s military industry revitalization policy will have any measurable effect on the country’s economy — which is already the 16th-largest in the world, thanks to commodities exports and domestic consumption — or on local regions with arms production plants, including Bandung, Surabaya, Batam Island in western Indonesia and Banyuwangi in East Java Province.

The country, which has a population of 240 million people, spends less on the military than Singapore, which has five million people.

“Made in Indonesia” weaponry and joint production agreements still cannot meet all of the Indonesian military’s needs, however.

The government gave its Defense Ministry a $5.5 billion credit to buy advanced weaponry from multiple — and at times competing — foreign sources, including 119 Leopard tanks from Germany, submarines from Russia and eight Apache attack helicopters from the United States in a tentative deal announced in August 2013.

The military budget also allocated money to upgrade 24 F-16 fighters given to Indonesia by the United States and five C-130 aircraft from Australia.

Correction: February 15, 2014
An article on Friday about Indonesia’s efforts to reinvigorate its military industry misstated the combined amount of money the government in 2012 injected into Indonesian Aerospace and the state-owned ship builder PAL Indonesia. It was 3 trillion rupiah (about $250 million), not 3 billion rupiah (about $250,000).

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/14/b...-industry-seeks-to-drum-up-business.html?_r=0

 

[Nike]

ARHANUD - Latbakjatrat Terintergerasi 2013
Credit to : Ryan Boedi

credit to jeng nanik@kaskus.co.id

 

[MarveL]

ARHANUD - Latbakjatrat Terintergerasi 2013
Credit to : Ryan Boedcredit to jeng nanik@kaskus.co.id

sis..., gambare ra metu ... suer.....

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

In Developing Indonesia, the Best Offense Is a Formidable Defense
By Bantarto Bandoro on 09:47 pm Jun 26, 2014


(JG Graphic/Josep Tri Ronggo Laksono)

In his conversation with the Jakarta Globe published on June 18, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro asserted that “Indonesia wants peace, but we must also prepare for war.”

It is not very clear what he is really up to when he said this, but when one tries to associate the statement with the main topic of his conversation, it can be assumed that he was referring to the role of Indonesia’s defense industry during peace as well as in wartime.

Unlike the US, where the emergent peace and wartime defense industry was an unprecedented event in the history of the American republic (the US-Soviet Cold War in the late 1940s and Korean war in1950), the emergence of a significant portion of Indonesia’s peace and wartime defense industry has no historical link, as Indonesia enjoyed a relatively secured external environment and is far from being involved in a total war against a foreign country.

However, the quest for Indonesia to develop a reliable and sustainable defense industry to help the Indonesian Military (TNI), as the main user, to effectively defend the country and bolster its military prowess, inspired the government to put a huge investment in the national defense industry to upgrade the TNI’s outdated armaments.

The significant development in the country’s strategic environment serves as an impetus for Indonesia to further develop its defense industry. Further good signs to revitalize the defense industry included when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2010 issued a decree establishing the National Committee on Defense Industry Policy.

Policies are forward looking. They determine outcomes and requirements that can only be ascertained in light of events that have yet to occur. Indonesia has yet to encounter serious events, at least as seen by the government, that can be regarded as a threat to national security. However, Indonesia’s continuous and consistent path toward making the defense industry as part of the strategic element in the country’s defense planning should be perceived as policy steps in the country’s preparation for war.

I remember vividly well the assessment of Maj. Gen. Sonny E.S. Prasetyo (now director general of defense strategy at the Defense Ministry) during his class session at Defense University in 2012 that the main objective for the country to acquire modern and sophisticated weapons is to prepare for war.

The statement of Purnomo seemed to be congruent with the assessment of Sonny. This suggests that peacetime defense industry products serve as a means not only to elevate the country’s defense outlook but also to enhance the deterrent function of major military equipment. Wartime, if it does occur, will see the reliability and effectiveness of the country’s defense industry products in sustaining the performance and endurance of the military.

The government’s commitment to revitalize and mobilize the defense industry is to gear toward more self reliance on domestic products. Around 40 percent of the government’s projected military spending will go to the domestic industry. But the growing interdependence in international relations due to the wave of globalization has forced countries to seek strategic partnership with more advanced countries in the realm of the defense industry. This is to say that Indonesia needs to have a “second hand” to boost its defense industry.

It is for this reason Indonesia initiated cooperation with certain countries in the area of the defense industry. The latest policy steps are an attempt by legislature to ratify the agreement between Indonesia and Turkey (signed in June 2010) on defense industry cooperation. It was during a hearing with experts that I suggested the law on the ratification of the agreement be based on the believe that Indonesia should gain more strategic benefits from the agreement. The agreement, if implemented, should therefore be gearing Indonesia to a positive sum rather than to a zero sum end.

When Purnomo said that the Committee on Defense Industry Policy (CDIP) identified the domestic defense industry’s weaknesses, as reported by the Jakarta Globe on June 18 — namely insufficient capital, the lack of competition, minimal experience, limitations on research and development capability and the lack of synergy between different industries — he may be suggesting that Indonesia is still far from developing what one calls defense industrial base (DIB).

The DIB is also known as the defense industrial and technological base. To political scientists, DIB is referred to as the government’s industrial assets, which may have a direct or indirect importance and contribution for the mass production of equipment for the country’s armed forces. This is to say that if Indonesia can develop a reliable and viable defense industrial base, this will certainly be one of the main features in the country’s defense policy and diplomacy. However, we do not know how many more years Indonesia needs to wait before it can really develop DIB. If it will be there, how prepared is the Indonesian defense industrial base to meet the growing needs of the TNI in coming decades?

Speaking on the matter of the defense industry, one remembers Malaysia’s concept paper on Asean Defense Industry Collaboration (ADIC). This concept paper aims to reduce defense imports by Asean members from $25 billion per year to $12.5 billion. The fifth Asean Defense Ministerial Meeting (ADMM), held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, on May 7, 2013, adopted the paper.

The question is how can Indonesia be an important part of the ADIC if the government fails to address its domestic defense industry weaknesses. The government needs to make significant investments to develop its defense industrial bases. Only then can it play strategic role in ADIC or demonstrate its modern defense industry and the importance of defense industry in upgrading TNI’s outdated armaments.

Bantarto Bandoro is a senior lecturer at the faculty of defense strategy at Defense University and founder of the Institute for Defense and Strategic Research (IDSR) in Jakarta

In Developing Indonesia, the Best Offense Is a Formidable Defense | The Jakarta Globe

 

[Zarvan]