TNI Investigates Missle Threat Againt Air Force Jets'

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 02/21/2009 9:37 AM | National

The Indonesian Military (TNI) is investigating an incident in which the two of the Air Force's newly procured Sukhoi SU-30 jets became the target of missile lock-on threat from an unknown source whilst flying in air space around South Sulawesi on Friday.

“There are two possibilities, it was either a real threat from foreign aircraft or a malfunction in the jets' warning system. Clearly, it will not be easy to find out,” TNI spokesman Rear Marshall Sagom Tamboen said Saturday.

Sagom said TNI was still gathering further details from the pilots and two Russian instructors who were onboard the jets.

“We're glad there wasn't any damage or injury in the incident. Let's just wait for the results of the investigation,” he said.

The jets were practicing an air interception scenario when their warning system indicated that missiles might have been about to be fired at them.

Sultan Hasnuddin Air Force sent a surveillance plane to comb a 370 kilometer radius around Makassar to search for any aircraft; none were detected. (dre)

New Fighter Jets Land in RI

Andi Hajramurni, , The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi | Sat, 12/27/2008 10:55 AM | National

Two Sukhoi fighter jets arrived in Indonesia on Friday from Russia, the first out of a total order of six for the country, defense officials said.

Russian cargo plane Antonov AH-124-100, which carried the two Sukhoi jets, landed at the Sultan Hasanuddin Air Force base in Makassar, South Sulawesi, at around 10:30 a.m.

Air force base commander First Marshall Ida Bagus Putu Dunia told the press the two jet fighters would be ready for service by the end of January 2009.

"The jet fighters will be assembled by Russian technicians, which will take about 10 days. After that, there will be test flights of the Sukhois. Once they are operational, the jet fighters will be officially handed over to the Indonesian government through the defense ministry," he said.

Air Squadron 11 commander Lt. Col. Widyargo Ikoputera said the new Sukhois -- type SU 30 TS3003 and TS 3005 -- had an advanced navigation system and multifunctional display equipment that would help pilots maneuver them easily in flight.

"Our pilots are used to navigation systems from jet fighters made by Western countries. The Sukhois use the same technology so it should be easy for our pilots," he said.

The Air Force has seven Sukhoi pilots who have finished training in Russia, but they plan on increasing that number, Iko said.

Sukhoi procurement project head Col. Mahandono told Antara news agency that the Sukhois would replace A-4 Sky Hawk jets based at the Air Squadron 11 in the Sultan Hasanuddin airforce base.

He said the two planes were part of six Sukhois bought from Russia under an export credit facility scheme.

The six will bring the total number of Indonesia's Sukhoi fleet to 10 by 2010, strengthening the airforce squadrons across the country, Mahandono added.

Russia has provided Indonesia with a US$1 billion-credit scheme to finance this and other military purchases from the European military giant, including 22 helicopters, 20 amphibious tanks and two submarines.

"The first two jets out of the six bought by Indonesia have been delivered to the customer," the Interfax news agency quoted a Sukhoi spokesman as saying in Moscow.

The two delivered jets were of the Su-30MK2 class and another Su-30MK2 jet is due to be delivered at the start of next year. Three Su-27SKM fighter jets will arrive by 2010, Interfax said.

This transaction was part of a wide-ranging defense deal agreed upon when the then president Vladimir Putin visited Jakarta in September 2007.

Air Force to Sign Loan Agreement on Sukhoi Jet Fighters

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 08/24/2008 4:32 PM | National

Indonesia will sign a loan agreement with Russia on the purchase of six Sukhoi fighter planes in September, 2008.

"According to the result of a meeting between the Defence Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the National Defense Force and the Air Force on Saturday, the loan agreement will be signed in September," Air Force chief Air Marshal Soebandrio said Sunday as quoted by Antara news agency.

He said that the six Sukhoi aircraft, which would arrive in stages in 2008 and 2009, were urgently needed to strengthen the Indonesian Air Force.

The Russian Sukhoi company announced last year the sale of six fighting aircraft to Indonesia worth US$300 million.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the procurement of the six Sukhoi planes was signed during the Moscow aerospace exhibition in August 2007. In the MoU however it was mentioned that the selling value of the six aircraft was $355 million.

Three units of SU-30MK2 type complete with the armament are scheduled to arrive in Indonesia in 2008 and the SU-27SKM type units in 2009.

The six Sukhoi fighters will replace the A-4 Skyhawk aircrafts of the Squadron 11 at the Hasanuddin airbase in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The purchase of the six Sukhoi aircraft was not included in the credit scheme given by the Russian government worth $1 billion in weapon systems for Indonesia signed in 2007 for the next four years. (dre)

Military to Buy 6 More Sukhois

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 11/29/2006 12:49 PM

MALANG, East Java: Indonesia will buy six more Russian-built Sukhoi jet fighters, Air Force chief Marshall Herman Prayitno said Tuesday.

Herman said the purchase of the Sukhois, of which Indonesia already owns four, was to be made through a US$1 billion loan from Russia that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would sign during his trip there this week.

Yudhoyono is scheduled to meet his counterpart Vladimir Putin to finalize the loan.

""The purchase of more Sukhois is aimed at creating a deterrent effect and we do not have any plans to attack other countries. Of course as a sovereign country we want to be strong and respectful,"" Herman said.

Indonesia purchased the first four Sukhois, along with two MI-35 helicopters worth US$192 million in 2003, during Megawati Soekarnoputri's presidency.

The Indonesian Military turned to Russia for arms after the U.S., which supplied 80 percent of Indonesia's weaponry, placed an embargo on the country following the Dili massacre in Timor Leste in 1991. The embargo was lifted fully earlier this year. -- JP