The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsTNI power punch
As the money comes from taxpayers – even when the funding is from foreign loans – the Defense Ministry must ensure that every rupiah spent on its Alutsista will contribute to the improvement of the TNI’s firepower.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
I
ndonesia only has less than four years to fulfill its Minimum Essential Force (MEF) target by 2024 in the third Strategic Plan (Renstra) 2019-2024. By the end of 2019, only 63.19 percent of the goal was reached, behind the targeted 75.54 percent. As such, the burden is heavier than expected for the government to complete the MEF goal.
To meet the objective, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has visited several countries to seek opportunities to bolster the primary weapons system (Alutsista) for the Indonesian Military (TNI), as well as to cement any ongoing defense industry cooperation.
During a visit to Austria in October, for example, Prabowo discussed the possibility of buying Austria’s Eurofighter Typhoon jet fighters. Indonesia’s purchase of second-hand jet fighters has a precedent. Back in 2012, the government decided to accept a grant of 24 F-16 C/D Block 25s from the United States government instead of buying six brand new F-16 C/D Block 52s.
After some upgrades worth around US$750 million, the 24 F-16 Block 25s now have capabilities nearing the newer Block 52s. The Indonesian Air Force has also managed to establish a second squadron of F-16 in Pekanbaru, Riau, to complement its squadron in Madiun, East Java.
The Defense Ministry, meanwhile, has expressed interest in buying a Bremen-class frigate that will be decommissioned from service by the German navy. In 2013, Indonesia bought three multirole light frigates that were previously in service with the Royal Brunei Navy. The reason was the need to have a greater presence in the country’s vast waters.
Buying used weapons systems is beneficial in terms of faster delivery time. In the case of jet fighters, their delivery may take between 12 and 24 months, while delivery of brand new products may take at least 36 months.
In their meeting in October, then-US defense secretary Mark Esper refused Prabowo’s request to buy stealthy F-35s, citing the long backlog of nine years. But the rejection could indicate that Jakarta is not high on Washington’s strategic priority list.
