SBY Stresses Importance of Air Power: What Would We Do If Jakarta Were Attacked?

Indonesia’s sixth President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has spoken about the critical importance of building air power capabilities, stating that the era of prioritising the Army is over.

“In the past, it seemed as though Indonesia prioritised the Army. Now, to be frank, air power is of enormous importance. Our old Total People’s Defence doctrine held that if we were to be attacked, we would strike back at the enemy’s homeland — though that was never easy — intercept them along their route, defend our coastlines, defend our major islands, wage guerrilla warfare, and launch counter-attacks. That was the doctrine back then,” SBY said during a public lecture at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) in Central Jakarta on Monday (23/2/2026).

SBY stated that such strategies are no longer viable. He then posed a pointed question about what would happen in the event of airstrikes destroying Jakarta and Indonesia’s defence manufacturing facilities.

“Now, if there were an airstrike that destroyed Jakarta, Pindad in Bandung, PAL in Surabaya, and other cities — what would we do? Think about that,” SBY said.

SBY reminded the audience that the current era is one of modern warfare. He stressed that all branches of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) must be prepared to face any form of attack.

“This is the modern era — modern warfare, modern technology, modern doctrine. Everything must be ready. The essence of hybrid warfare is that you do not pick and choose; everything must be ready. That is the crux of it,” SBY said.