Air Force will receive 18 fighters next year<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will receive 18 of the 20 Hawk jet
\nfighters it ordered from Britain next year, Air Force Chief of
\nStaff Marshall Rilo Pambudi said yesterday at the Halim
\nPerdanakusumah air base.<\/p>\n
Rilo told The Jakarta Post that the Hawk 100 and Hawk 200
\nplanes will be delivered in phases and the other two planes will
\nbe delivered later. He did not specify any dates.<\/p>\n
Most of the planes will be stationed at the Air Force's base
\nin Pekanbaru, in the Riau province, Rilo announced at a military
\nceremony to mark the Air Force's 49th anniversary.<\/p>\n
Indonesia ordered the Hawk fighters, built by British
\nAerospace plc., in 1993 as part of its drive to modernize the Air
\nForce's fleet of war planes. Currently, the most modern planes in
\nits fleet are the U.S. built F-16 fighters which were purchased
\nin the 1980s.<\/p>\n
The Hawk deal is estimated to be worth about 500 million
\npoundsterling ($790 million) but details of the financial
\narrangements have not been disclosed to the public.<\/p>\n
Indonesian officials have not ruled out the possibility of
\nbuying up to 90 more Hawk planes in the future.<\/p>\n
The Air Force defends Indonesian air space from three major
\nair bases. The Pekanbaru base, host to the First Air Defense
\nCommand, oversees western Indonesia, covering Sumatra and parts
\nof Java and Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung at the ceremony
\nyesterday encouraged the Air Force to continue modernizing both
\nits \"software\" (troops) and \"hardware\" (equipment) to improve the
\nprofessionalism of its members.<\/p>\n
In his speech, which was read by Marshall Rilo, Feisal said
\nthat the long-term target of the Air Force program is to turn it
\ninto a professional, effective, efficient and modern force
\ncapable of overcoming today's challenges.<\/p>\n
Feisal was not present at the ceremony yesterday as he was in
\nthe United States.<\/p>\n
Present at the ceremony were Chief of ABRI's General Affairs
\nLt. Gen. Soeyono, Deputy chief of National Police Maj. Gen. M.B.
\nHutagalung and a number of military attaches from foreign
\nembassies.<\/p>\n
The highlight of the ceremony was the air display of all the
\naircraft owned by the Air Force, from its helicopters to the
\nservice's most prized aircraft -- the F-16.<\/p>\n
Some 200 members of the Special Force, the Air Force's elite
\norange beret unit, put on a mock-show taking back their air base
\nfrom foreign enemies. (rms)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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