Ministry of Defence Prepares Eight Acceleration Steps for Drone Development

The Indonesian Ministry of Defence has prepared eight acceleration steps to speed up the development of unmanned aerial vehicle or drone technology in the defence sector. These eight steps are designed to ensure Indonesia’s readiness in terms of technology and human resources to adopt advancements in drone technology. “The first step is to develop a mission-based roadmap starting from defence needs and operational scenarios,” said Head of the Defence Technology Agency at the Ministry of Defence, Rear Admiral TNI Arif Harnanto, at the Indonesia Drone Expo (IDE) held at JIExpo, Kemayoran, Jakarta, on Wednesday. According to Arif, this mission-based planning is necessary so that users, in this case the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), can acquire drone technology that precisely matches operational requirements. The second step, he continued, is for the government to establish strong interoperability standards so that communication systems and data usage can be conducted simultaneously. This would allow all branches of the military to have a unified command in utilising data obtained from drone technology. Once these facilities are in place, users can proceed to the fourth step, which is developing drone technology in stages. “The fifth step is to build a national data and AI ecosystem,” Arif stated. Following that, the government must take the sixth step, which is strengthening the supply chain for the technical needs of drones. This supply chain reinforcement presents an opportunity for the domestic defence industry to play a role in developing TNI’s drone technology. Amidst all these steps, he assured that the government will not overlook the most crucial step in enhancing the quality of Indonesian drones: improving the capacity of human resources. Arif believes that advancements in drone technology must be accompanied by improvements in the quality of human resources, from operators to assemblers. By following these eight agendas, Arif is confident that the TNI will be able to maximise drone technology to strengthen the national defence system.