B

eyond our deep sympathy to those who perished in the Hercules C-130 military plane crash in the North Sumatra capital of Medan on Tuesday, the accident has again reminded us of the pressing need to renew our air defense fleet in particular and the whole national weaponry system in general.

The giant transport plane, popularly known as Herky bird, was produced in 1964 but began to serve the Air Force only in 1980. Tuesday'€™s was the third major crash to have involved an Indonesian Military (TNI) Hercules since 1991.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla has admitted that the country currently operates 20 aging Hercules. After being briefed on the crash, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo was quick to pledge an audit and modernization of the country'€™s defense equipment. But with the Indonesian economic outlook unfavorable for huge investment in arms procurement, the President'€™s plan will take years to realize unless the government declares it a top priority.

For decades, armed forces across the world, including the TNI, have relied on the US-made Hercules to carry personnel and weapons, including bombs, both in wartime and peacetime, given its reputation as one of the safest of all aircraft. TNI Hercules played a pivotal role in the humanitarian mission in the aftermath of the devastating Aceh tsunami in December 2004 and other major natural disasters that have struck the country.

Transport aircraft like Hercules are inseparable from the national defense system, but policymakers have paid little attention to them compared with, say, jet fighters. The House has embroiled itself in acrimonious debates on lucrative procurement of US-made F-16s or Russian Sukhois, but never on Hercules. Many are unaware of the risks of operating aging transport planes, regardless of routine maintenance.

Media reports say the TNI'€™s last purchase of Hercules was in 1980, when it bought 12 units of various types. One crashed on Tuesday. The TNI'€™s Hercules fleet expanded when it received a grant in the form of five Super Hercules planes from state airline companies Merpati and Pelita in 1995 and four from Australia'€™s Royal Air Force in 2013 following a diplomatic row over allegations that Australia tapped the phone conversations of Indonesian dignitaries, including then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In comparison, between 2004 and 2014 alone, Indonesia bought 16 Su-27s and Su-30s and is set to buy a squadron of the latest variant of the Russian fighter jet, Su-35, in addition to receiving a grant of 24 refurbished F-16s from the US.

Any purchase of combat planes will for sure increase Indonesia'€™s deterrence capability, which was evident in the immediate reaction of Singapore and Australia to order F-35s from the US following reports of Indonesia'€™s plan to buy Su-35s from Russia.

But with attacks from foreign armed forces unforeseeable, we may have to revisit our arms spending by allocating a larger portion of the defense budget to buy new transport planes. This matches the TNI'€™s plan to switch focus to humanitarian missions like disaster mitigation, given the country'€™s vulnerability to natural calamities.