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Year-ender 2020: How virus crisis changed defense industry landscape
The government started this year with high hopes for developing the national defense industry. But then came the pandemic.
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Tiger in your tank: Workers of state-owned weapons manufacturer PT Pindad prepare a medium-sized Tiger tank to be displayed at the Indo Defense 2018 Expo & Forum at the Jakarta International Expo center in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Dhoni Setiawan)
The government started this year with high hopes for developing the national defense industry.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo himself reaffirmed a commitment to boost the defense industry in late January when inspecting Indonesia’s first domestically-assembled submarine, the KRI Alugoro 405, at state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia’s shipyard in Surabaya, East Java.
The submarine, which was completed and launched in June last year, marked a milestone for Indonesia in its dream of empowering the country’s domestic defense industry amid demand for modernization of its primary weaponry system (alutsista).
The submarine is the third vessel built in an ongoing US$1.1 billion partnership between PAL Indonesia and South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
Read also: Indonesia's first domestically assembled submarine 'milestone' to boost defense industry
Jokowi said Indonesia should also focus on “overhauling the industry ecosystem”, including by providing financing facilities for state-owned defense enterprises and reducing their reliance on imported goods.
But then came the pandemic, which rattled Indonesia’s economy, as well as the global economy, drastically changing the domestic defense industry, which is heavily reliant on imported goods.
