RI to purchase 20 used Nomads from Australia

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Navy plans to buy a fleet of 20 Nomad aircraft from Australia.

Navy Chief Vice Admiral Arief Kushariadi said yesterday that the deal was struck in a talk between Indonesian Minister of Defense and Security Gen. (ret) Edi Sudradjat and his Australian counterpart Ian McLachlan in Surabaya on Thursday.

"We will get a lot of aircraft," he said after attending a celebration of the 51st anniversary of the Marine Corps here yesterday.

Arief did not mention the exact number of aircraft to be purchased but Antara quoted the Indonesian defense attache in Canberra saying that Jakarta means to buy 20 Nomads.

The Indonesian navy has operated Nomad N-22s since 1976 to patrol exclusive economic zones.

AFP quoted McLachlan as saying Thursday that the twin turboprop aircraft were "retired from the Australian Defense Forces service in 1995 after they became unsuitable for continued military use."

McLahlan said the sale was subject to final price negotiations and a final inspection of the aircraft, which are in storage at the army's aviation center at Oakey in the Australian state of Queensland.

"Indonesia is interested in the aircraft for maritime surveillance, a role in which it already uses 18 Nomad aircraft acquired from Australia in the 1970s," he said.

According to the Australian minister, maritime surveillance was "well within" the approved performance limitations of the Nomad aircraft "in contrast to the demanding role the aircraft had in the ADF (Australian Defense Forces)," McLachlan said.

Arief said the navy plans to recruit 3,000 more personnel to the elite Marine Corps to strengthen the navy.

"We hope we will be able to dispatch three battalions of landing teams in three trouble spots at the same time," he said.

He said that the navy will selecting the 3,000 personnel from navy members in the provinces. "Our war ships have set sail to fetch them," he said.

The 3,000 marines are to replace retiring marines, he said. In addition the navy will recruit another 2,500 to be posted in various units.

Arief also reported that as President Soeharto recently requested, the navy has prepared a ship to take home Indonesian workers who work illegally in Malaysia.

"The ship is ready. We are waiting for orders to leave for Malaysia," he said. He said the navy also makes its ships available to ferry people and goods between Sumatra and Java in emergencies. (pan)