Radar built in West Timor

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: The Indonesian Air Force will start building a radar monitoring system in the village of Buraen, Amarasi district, Kupang regency, in anticipation of increasing infringement of Indonesian airspace.

First Marshal Basri Sidiehadi, commander of the second air defense sector of Makassar, said here on Thursday that the construction of this system, of the Thomson type with a capacity of 250 kilo nautical miles, was in response to the frequent intrusions by foreign aircraft into national territory lately.

He told The Jakarta Post that other conflict areas would also have the same installations, such as Saumlaki, Maluku Tenggara Barat regency (Maluku), Merauke and Biak (Irian Jaya).

The rising airspace violation particularly following the separation of East Timor from Indonesia, according to him, has escaped the detection of radar equipment in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The new radar in Buraen, West Timor, will be located close to the border with East Timor and to the Indian Ocean. In addition, the Air Force has readied eight fighters in the province to conduct routine patrols around the border and ocean. (30)