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The potentials and pitfalls of Indonesia’s military modernization
Buying new weapons to replace aging platforms and systems is all well and good, but funding is still the bottom line when it comes to increasing the TNI's capabilities in terms of operational readiness.
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Aerial lure: The Indonesian Air Force’s Brazilian-made Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano light attack aircraft perform a tactical maneuver over Banyuwangi International Airport in East Java on Sept. 17, 2023, during a show aimed at wooing the younger generation to join the Air Force. (Antara/Budi Candra Setya)
O
ne could be mistaken in thinking that Indonesia has been on a weapon-buying spree in recent years, especially since incumbent Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto took office in 2019.
During his watch, the Indonesian Military (TNI) in 2021 launched a massive acquisition program with plans to spend nearly US$125 billion on new weapons platforms and systems.
The recent weapons acquisition is part of Indonesia’s long-term efforts to modernize and enhance the TNI’s capabilities that began nearly 20 years ago. In 2005, then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono outlined the Minimum Essential Force (MEF) concept, aiming to equip the TNI with the “capabilities to deal with conventional and potential threats”.
Despite these modernization efforts since 2005, the acquisition of foreign-made weapons platforms has remained low for several years. Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) indicates that between 2005 and 2022, Indonesia spent an average of $400 million annually on importing foreign weapons platforms.
One critical impact of low investment in acquiring newer weapons platforms and systems is the TNI’s operational readiness.
Let’s take the Air Force (TNI-AU) as a case study. It has an aging fleet, of which only 45 percent is operational. Several military aircraft crashes in recent years underline the poor state of its operational readiness.
Most of the TNI’s naval platforms are also decades old, placing a question mark on the ability of the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) to protect the vast Indonesian archipelago. This was demonstrated in July 2020 when a landing ship sank in rough waters, followed by the disappearance of a 1977 German-made submarine near Bali in April 2021.
