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Air Force chief to be questioned over British chopper purchase
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An AW 101 helicopter ordered by the Indonesian Air Force undergoes a test at Leonardo-Finmecanicca in Yeovil, England, last week. The Air Force chief of staff is to be questioned about the purchase of the chopper. (kompas.com/-)
T
he Indonesian Military (TNI) said on Tuesday that it would summon the Air Force chief of staff Air Chief Marshall Agus Supriatna and other officials at the Air Force to seek clarification about the decision to purchase a British-made chopper, the AgustaWestland (AW) 101, which is reportedly worth US$55 million (Rp741 billion).
TNI spokesman Brig. Gen. Wuryanto said a team that was specifically established to investigate the purchase last week had been working to collect evidence in the case and would soon move to question the Air Force chief of staff in the near future.
“Yes, [Agus will be questioned] for sure and other relevant parties as well. Let’s wait for the results of the investigation. All relevant parties will be checked,” Wuryanto told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday without naming the date of the interrogation.
(Read also: Jokowi rejects European helicopter procurement)
Wuryanto said that TNI commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo had sent a letter to cancel the purchase of the helicopter last year following an order from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in December 2015 to reject the Air Force’s proposal to buy an AW 101 chopper for presidential purposes because it was too costly.
However, the Air Force recently made headlines after it insisted on buying the same type of chopper by reasoning that it was not for presidential purposes, but for military and search and rescue purposes. (jun)
