Indonesian Navy chief of staff Adm. Marsetio said on Wednesday that a Russian offer of second-hand Kilo-class submarines had been turned down because they were in poor condition.

'€œAfter we visited the location, we came to the conclusion that the second-hand submarines were not seaworthy,'€ he said.

'€œThe submarines have been idle for two years. Their engines and other components are damaged. It will be too costly to repair them.'€

Marsetio'€™s comments came at a display of the Navy'€™s latest primary weapons systems, which included warships, helicopters and missiles, at Madura Pier, Ujung, Surabaya, the Eastern Fleet headquarters.

He added that the Navy was concentrating on the building of three South Korean-made Chang Bogo-class submarines. The third submarine will be built at state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL in Surabaya as part of a transfer-of-technology from Korea.

Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was present at the display to inspect the Navy'€™s hardware, called for the building of 12 submarines by local shipbuilders to be sped up after the Chang Bogo project was completed.

Indonesia'€™s current submarines, the U-206 type KRI Cakra-401 and KRI Nanggala-402, were made by German shipyard Howaldtswerke in Kiel, Germany, and were commissioned in 1981. The Chang Bogo itself is a derivative of the German-made U-209 submarine.

'€œWe do not want a war but if we have to fight to defend our sovereignty, then we are ready,'€ Yudhoyono said during his inspection.

The showcase also featured a flyover involving maritime patrol versions of the CN-235 and NC-212, which were manufactured by state-owned airframer PT Dirgantara Indonesia, and an Australian-made GAF N-22 Nomad patrol aircraft.

Marsetio briefed the President on the procurement of warships, including four Diponegoro-class SIGMA corvettes, four Makassar-class landing platform docks (LPDs), four 40-meter Clurit-class fast missile boats (KCR-40s) and two 43-meter fast patrol boats (PC-43).

The corvettes were built in the Netherlands, one of the LPDs in South Korea and the other LPD, the KCR-40 and the PC-43 were built in Indonesia by local shipbuilders.

Marsetio added that the Navy was waiting for three British-made Bung Tomo-class multi-role light frigates (MRLFs), as well as three KCR-60s and two more PC-43s.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said that the Marine Corps had received 54 Russian-made BMP-3F amphibious infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) and one BREM-L recovery vehicle as well as 15 LVT 7A1 amphibious vehicles that were donated by Korea.

The Navy has also procured two CN-235-220 MPAs, four Beechcraft G-36 Bonanza training airplanes, three Bell 412-EP helicopters as well as Russian-made Yakhont and Chinese-made C-802 anti-ship missiles.

Since some of the procurements were still in process, Purnomo said some craft were displayed as models, such as three Korean-made Chang Bogo-class submarines.

'€œThese primary weapon systems are displayed as accountability to the public on the Navy'€™s force development,'€ he said.

A similar show had been held at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta, while a display for the Army is scheduled later this month in Bandung.

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