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View all search resultsAir Force F-16 pilots successfully test locally made bomb
The locally made BNT-250 will allow Indonesia to reduce its reliance on United States-made Mk. 82 bombs.
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Air Force armorers load BNT-250 live bombs onto an F-16 AM from the 3rd Air Squadron at the Iswahjudi Air Force Base in Maospati, Magetan regency, East Java, on Nov. 18, 2025. The NATO-standard bomb is locally made by private arms maker PT Sari Bahari in cooperation with state-owned explosives maker PT Dahana. (Courtesy of PT Sari Bahari/-)
T
he Air Force has successfully tested the domestically produced BNT-250 bomb, a NATO-standard live bomb weighing 250 kilograms, thus reducing its reliance on Mk. 82 bombs, imported from the United States.
Pilots from the 3rd Air Squadron at Iswahjudi Air Force Base (AFB) in Magetan, East Java, flew two F-16 AM jet fighters in the test at Pandanwangi Air Weapons Range in Lumajang, East Java, carrying a total of 12 BNT-250 bombs on Nov. 18.
Test pilots Lt. Col. Anwar “Weasel” Sovie flew aircraft TS-1610 and Maj. Windi “Lion” Darmawan flew the TS-1612.
Each F-16 carried six BNT-250 bombs and they conducted a total of eight bombing rounds by dropping one bomb each and another two rounds releasing two bombs each simultaneously.
A third aircraft, TS-1603, a dual-seater F-16 BM, acted as spotter and cameraman to record the bombing process.
Iswahjudi AFB commander Air Cdre. Muchtadi Anjar Legowo said the trial was aimed at collecting technical data to assess feasibility and operational use.
“The test was carried out to measure the function, accuracy and integration of the BNT-250 bomb on the F-16 Fighting Falcon of 3rd Air Squadron,” Legowo said on Nov. 18.
