Analyst: Turning Kertajati into a Hercules MRO hub would change the airport's fiscal burden
Analyst Selamat Ginting, a political and military analyst at National University (UNAS), said that accepting the United States’ offer to make Kertajati Airport a hub for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of heavy transport aircraft C-130 Hercules across Asia would alter the airport’s fiscal burden.
“Proyek MRO Hercules dapat mengubah Kertajati dari ‘beban fiskal’ menjadi aset geopolitik dan industri pertahanan nasional,” said Ginting to Kompas.com, Friday (22/5/2026).
Ginting explained that Kertajati Airport is synonymous with an infrastructure project that has struggled to attract passenger traffic.
“Bandara yang dibangun dengan ambisi besar itu justru sering dianggap ‘bandara di tengah nowhere’ karena konektivitas dan utilisasinya rendah. Namun justru di situlah letak nilai strategisnya,” he said.
He noted that an airport with ample land, a long runway, and relatively light civilian activity is ideally developed into an air logistics hub, an aerospace region, military MRO facilities, and a regional aviation hub.
From an international political perspective, he said Indonesia’s bargaining position with the United States would be strengthened.
However, if Indonesia becomes the Asia regional MRO hub for Hercules, the relationship is seen as rising to a strategic partnership in logistics and the defence industry.
“This is important because Hércules is used by many countries in Asia (such as) Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, India, and Australia,” he added.
“By becoming a regional maintenance hub, Indonesia automatically becomes a ‘key node’ in the region’s military logistics chain,” he added.
After all, Indonesia has often maintained an active non-aligned position amid the rivalry between the United States and China.
“But the world today is moving towards influence competition based on logistics, technology, and the military supply chain. Therefore, becoming a regional MRO hub sends the message that Indonesia is not merely a weapons market, but a strategic player in Asia’s defence ecosystem,” he asserted.
Hercules-user countries are expected to engage more frequently with Indonesia, from technician training, spare parts procurement, certification, to engine maintenance.
Get more quota, understand the news faster, and delve deeper into the context of the KOMPAS.com article.