Strengthening Defence Capabilities: Prabowo Vows to Secure Air, Sea, and Land Territories

JAKARTA — President Prabowo Subianto has stated that the government will continue to bolster Indonesia’s defence capabilities to ensure the sovereignty of the nation’s land, sea, and air territories. This was announced by Prabowo during the official handover ceremony of several main weapons systems (alutsista) from the government to the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (Panglima TNI) at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, Jakarta, on Monday (18/05/2026).

“In the future, we will continue to build our strength. We will secure our air, sea, and land territories,” said Prabowo on Monday.

He continued, noting that today’s handover of defence equipment marks a significant milestone in strengthening Indonesia’s national defence. “This is just one milestone in increasing our strength; we must continuously enhance our defence capabilities. As a deterrent, we have no interests other than protecting our own territory,” Prabowo added.

The defence assets handed over today include six units of Dassault Rafale fighter jets, one Airbus A400M Atlas MRTT, four Dassault Falcon 8X aircraft, as well as GCI GM403 radar, the modern Meteor missile system, and the Hammer smart weapon system.

During the event, Prabowo toured the aircraft accompanied by the Minister of Defence, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force, Air Marshal M. Tonny Harjono, and several delegates from France.