Prabowo Accepts US Offer; Kertajati Airport to Become Hercules Maintenance Facility

JAKARTA — President Prabowo Subianto, through the Indonesian Ministry of Defence, has accepted a proposal from US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to designate Bandara Kertajati in Majalengka Regency as a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub for C-130 Hercules heavy transport aircraft across Asia.

“He offered, and this does not exist in any ASEAN country. He offered, ‘What if I centralise C-130 maintenance across Asia in Indonesia at our expense?’ I reported to the President, ‘let us have Kertajati’. Well, we are working on that,” said Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.

Defence Minister (Menhan) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin revealed this news during a Working Meeting (Raker) between Commission I of the DPR and the Ministry of Defence (Kemhan) and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) on Tuesday, 19 May 2026.

On a separate occasion, Head of the Defence Information Bureau at Kemhan, Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, confirmed the US offer. “With regard to the statement by the Minister of Defence, there is currently a plan to prepare the Bandara Kertajati area as one of the MRO centres for C-130/Hercules aircraft in the Asia region,” Rico said when contacted, on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. The senior TNI-AD officer explained that the development of Bandara Kertajati as a C-130 Hercules MRO hub across Asia will be conducted in stages. “It is aimed at supporting Indonesia as a Hercules maintenance hub in the region,” he said. According to Rico, this aligns with efforts to strengthen defence industry self-reliance and national strategic air logistics support.