Ministry of Defence confirms Kertajati Airport to become TNI fighter jet maintenance facility
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Head of the Public Relations and Defence Information Bureau at the Indonesian Ministry of Defence, Brigadier General TNI Rico Ricardo Sirait, said his ministry will utilise Kertajati Airport in Majalengka, West Java, as a maintenance and repair facility for Indonesian Air Force fighter jets.
“Kertajati will be developed in the future to strengthen the maintenance capabilities of Indonesian Air Force aircraft, not only transport aircraft such as the Hercules, but gradually it will also be directed to have the capability to support fighter jet maintenance,” Rico said when confirmed by ANTARA in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Rico explained that the effort is being made so that in the future, maintenance of Indonesian Air Force fighter jets can be carried out entirely in Indonesia using domestic human resources.
He assessed that there are many advantages to be gained if the entire aircraft maintenance process is carried out domestically, one of which is that Indonesia will not be dependent on foreign parties in updating or maintaining aircraft technology.
In addition, the domestic defence industry and its human resources will also experience quality improvements because technology transfer occurs between external parties and companies in Indonesia.
“This progress can also be utilised by the domestic defence industry to strengthen Indonesia’s primary weapon systems (alutsista),” he said.
Nevertheless, Rico could not yet confirm the concept of the fighter jet maintenance facility to be built at Kertajati Airport.
The government is currently still in the development stage of Kertajati Airport as a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility for Hercules transport aircraft in Asia.
“For fighter jets, this is still a future development direction, so it has not yet reached the stage of determining the aircraft type or its MRO scheme,” he explained.
He believes this is achievable because the domestic aerospace industry already has strong capital to carry out such work.
One of the assets already in hand is the success of domestic company PT Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero Asia Tbk (GMF) in carrying out heavy maintenance on Hercules aircraft for the first time.
This success, he said, indicates that the domestic industry has experienced quality improvements in technology and human resources.
This success also, according to Sjafrie, makes PT GMF and PT DI the parties that will be involved in the development of the Kertajati MRO.
Nevertheless, Sjafrie did not explain in detail when the MRO at Kertajati will begin operating to carry out fighter jet maintenance.
He only expressed hope that the MRO construction can be completed soon so that PT DI and PT GMF can utilise it to maintain fighter jet or transport aircraft of the Indonesian Air Force.
“We are striving to enhance our defence strength development by using the capabilities of technical crews from Indonesia’s own sons and daughters,” Sjafrie said.