Indonesia Showcases Kamikaze Drone Control Troops

The Ministry of Defence (Kemhan) showcased troops with specialist expertise in controlling kamikaze drones during a parade of State Civil Apparatus (ASN) Reserve Components (Komcad) at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in East Jakarta on Friday. At the exhibition site, the drone controller unit appeared last in the parade, following the Air Force’s Rapid Reaction Force Corps (Korpasgat). When confirmed by ANTARA in Jakarta, Brigadier General TNI Rico Ricardo Sirait, Head of the Defence Information Bureau at the Ministry of Defence, stated that the troops were not from a special unit. ‘What was displayed in the parade was not a new unit, but organic TNI personnel from the army, navy, and air force who have received education and training in drone systems, both domestically and abroad,’ Rico said. Rico explained that they possess the ability to operate and develop kamikaze drones for defence mission purposes. Beyond operating and developing these drones, he said, the troops also serve as instructors to train other personnel in operating kamikaze drones. Rico mentioned that the kamikaze drone personnel are currently spread across all branches and units of the TNI, with the expectation that all units will have equal strength in drone control. ‘Drone capability is one of the development focuses of the TNI, in line with the evolving character of modern warfare, which increasingly relies on unmanned technology,’ Rico explained. Although the drone controller troops appeared alongside the reserve components, which incidentally fall under the Ministry of Defence, Rico stressed that the drone troops are not under the Ministry of Defence. ‘There is no special Kamikaze Drone unit under the Ministry of Defence,’ he asserted. ‘The future development of combat drone capabilities is still being continuously studied and prepared by the TNI according to national defence needs,’ Rico concluded. A kamikaze drone is an unmanned aircraft containing explosives designed for single use. In practice, this drone is controlled by a crew from a certain distance to patrol, search for a target, and then crash into the target to create an explosion.