RI to buy eight more Sukhois

JAKARTA: In a bid to strengthen its capability of guarding the country's air space, the Air Force plans to buy eight more Russian-made Sukhoi jetfighters this year.

If the additional Sukhois arrive, the Air Force will have a squadron of 12 jetfighters.

"The new squadron will provide the TNI with adequate air defenses and we have already selected 18 to 20 pilots to be trained in Russia to fly the jetfighters," Air Force Chief Marshall Chappy Hakim while observing the rehearsal of the force's 58th anniversary at the Halim Perdanakusuma air base in East Jakarta.

The anniversary falls on April 9, but this year's celebration has been moved back one day as the day coincided with Good Friday, which is a national holiday.

Chappy, nevertheless, said the budget allocated for the purchase as well as a training program for Indonesian pilots had yet to be approved.

"We have not yet received confirmation regarding the budget," Chappy said.

Indonesia spent US$192.6 million on four Sukhois last year. -- JP