Last two Hawk fighters arrive in Indonesia
Last two Hawk fighters arrive in Indonesia
JAKARTA (JP): The last two of 24 Hawk-100 and Hawk-200 jet
fighters which the government had ordered from Britain in 1993
arrived yesterday in Pekanbaru, Riau.
Air Force chief spokesman Col. Mirsyahban Ashfa told The
Jakarta Post here yesterday that the two aircraft, piloted by
Indonesian Air Force pilots from Warton, Britain, had landed at
the Pekanbaru air base where they would be stationed.
Several high-ranking military officials were on hand to
welcome the planes' arrival. Among them were Gen. Bambang
Sumbodo, an assistant to the Armed Forces' chief of general
affairs, Rear Marshall I Gede Sudana, the deputy chief of Air
Force operations, and Col. R. Supriyanto, the chief of the base.
The government bought the eight Hawk-100 trainers and 16 Hawk-
200 ground-attack fighters for about 500 million pounds (US$770
million) from British Aerospace Plc. in 1993.
Mirsyahban said, "The 24 trainers and fighters, grouped in
Squadron 12, will be all stationed at the Pekanbaru air base to
strengthen our air defense in the western territories as well as
handle any possible threats from the northern part of the
country."
He said the Air Force was ordering 16 more Hawk-200s, worth
around $216 million, from Britain to be stationed at Supadio air
base in West Kalimantan.
"This second order is set to be met next year," he said.
Indonesia is strengthening its defense in the west because of
the robust growth of development in the region, especially around
the Riau islands bordering Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China,
the Philippines and Thailand.
Last October, the Armed Forces carried out large war games
that involved all its jet bombers, 40 warships and almost 100,000
personnel in Natuna waters to ensure the security of the gas-rich
island. The gas is expected to be explored next year in
cooperation with U.S. and British mining companies.
Indonesia has also purchased 12 F-16 Falcon fighters from the
U.S. and several F-5 Tigers, all of which are stationed in Madiun
and Halim Perdanakusumah air bases. Two of these F-16 bombers
crashed in routine training in 1993 and early this month.
Indonesia is planning to buy 12 more F-16s, which the U.S. put
up for sale in 1995. (rms)