January 27 2012, Yogyakarta: Eight fighter aircraft will be bought from Russia and Brazil in the near future to complement the main weaponry system of the Indonesian Air Force, the force’s chief, Air Marshal Imam Sufaat, said here Thursday.
"The eight fighter aircraft will consist of four Sukhois from Russia and four Super Tucanos from Brazil. The eight new aircraft will arrive in Indonesia in 2012-2014," he said.
According to Marshal Imam Sufaat, at a later stage of the procurement for major weaponry systems (defense equipment) the Air Force until 2024 will also buy six units of Sukhoi fighter aircraft, Super Tucano 16 units, T-50 from South Korea 16 units, and F-16 30 units.
"With this procurement of defense equipment the Indonesia Air Force in 2024 will have 180 combat aircraft. It is an effort of the Air Force to build its strength as well as modernizing and regenerating the defense equipment owned today."
The Marshal said many planes owned by the Indonesia Air Force is now aging at average of 30 years, so they needed rejuvenation. If they are replaced the treatment cost will be very high since there were some aircraft spare parts that are not provided because the factories that produced the aircrafts are no longer operating.
"Although some of the aircraft were not able to function optimally, we have maximized the combat aircraft to secure the territory of Indonesia from outside threats. It was also supported by the addition of defense equipment needed based on the calculation of aircraft and the number of runaway that can operate the combat aircraft," the Marshal Imam explained.
Source: KOMPAS
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