Airforce: RI needs more radars

YOGYAKARTA: The Indonesian Airforce reactivated its radar system located in the west coast village of Congot, some 45 kilometers west of Yogyakarta, in a ceremony led by its chief Air Marshal Hanafie Asnan on Friday.

The Congot radar system was built in 1962 but has been inactive since 1972 due to a shortage of spare parts.

"After being unused since 1972, the radar station has now been reactivated. With a coverage of 250 kilometers, the Plesey radar can sense any object located on Christmas Island," Hanafie was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

Aircraft coming from the south or from the Indian Ocean can be detected by the radar.

The old Nysa radar could detect flying objects from a distance of 200 kilometers.

Hanafie said ideally more radars were needed to deal with the increasing number of foreign aircraft crossing into Indonesian airspace.

The Congot radar system is one of six Airforce radars stationed along the south coast of Java. (sur)