Defence Minister: Kertajati MRO slated to become Air Force fighter jet workshop

Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has said that the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility for Hercules aircraft in Asia at Kertajati Airport is also slated to become the primary maintenance and repair centre for Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) fighter jets.

Sjafrie made the statement during a meeting with executives from PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI), PT Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero Asia Tbk (GMF), and Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force Air Chief Marshal Mohamad Tonny Harjono aboard a Hercules C-130 aircraft on Wednesday.

“Going forward, how can fighter jet maintenance also be carried out independently by ourselves,” Sjafrie said during the meeting, which followed the handover ceremony of a Hercules C-130 H aircraft from PT GMF to the Ministry of Defence at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport hangar in Tangerang, Banten.

According to him, the domestic aerospace industry already possesses strong capital to carry out such work. One of the assets already secured is the success of domestic company PT GMF in performing heavy maintenance on a Hercules aircraft for the first time.

That success, he said, indicates that the domestic industry has experienced quality improvements in technology and human resources.

Nevertheless, Sjafrie did not specify in detail when the MRO at Kertajati would begin operating to perform fighter jet maintenance. He only expressed hope that the MRO construction could be completed soon so that PT DI and PT GMF can utilise it to maintain TNI AU fighter jets and transport aircraft.

“We are striving to enhance the development of our defence strength by using the capabilities of technical crews who are the sons and daughters of the Indonesian nation themselves,” Sjafrie said.