Strong synergy needed to develop modern defense industry

Strong synergy needed to develop modern defense industry

Ridwan Max Sijabat
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

In view of the limited defense budget, the government and the
military should form a strong synergy with research centers,
universities and financial institutions to build a modern defense
industry subordinate to the country's national defense system,
military and defense experts say.

According to the experts, the government has to show a strong
commitment to gradually raising the defense budget and pursuing
self-sufficiency in its arsenal supply, while universities and
research centers have to play their own roles in conduct research
in developing military technology.

Prof. Said D. Jenie of the Ministry of Research and Technology
said that the Indonesian Military (TNI) had listed certain
technology and weaponry that needed to be built in cooperation
with non-department government agencies (LPNDs) and their
research centers.

"The TNI's need for military equipment in strategic
intelligence, defense, security and logistical matters is within
the domain of LPNDs' capability and, therefore, close cooperation
between the relevant parties should be enhanced to achieve self-
sufficiency in the defense field," he said in his paper presented
during a round-table discussion on the defense industry here on
Wednesday.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who officially opened the
discussion, expressed his commitment to increasing defense
spending to between 3 percent and 5 percent of gross domestic
product (GDP) compared to the current 1 percent in a bid to build
a modern defense force.

Jenie explained that the country's LPNDs -- Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI), National Aeronautics and Aerospace
Agency (Lapan), National Atomic Agency (Batan), National Agency
for Research and Application of Technology (BPPT), Meteorology
and Geophysics Agency (BMG) and TNI's research centers -- had
their own fields of expertise in research, development,
engineering and operations.

Budhi Santoso, president of state-owned arms manufacturer PT
Pindad in Bandung, West Java, said that to be realistic in terms
of global weaponry systems development and the country's large
territory and potential threats, the time has come for the
country to start developing nuclear and missile technology in its
defense system through transfer of technology, forward (or
classical) engineering, or reverse engineering.

"Research centers, defense industries and universities should
form three main groups in developing missile technology. If
Indonesia cannot obtain the technology through bilateral
cooperation with other countries, we can do it through forward
engineering or reverse engineering," he said.

He said that Pindad, state-owned electronic firm PT LEN,
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and the Army have studied
rapier missile technology by dismantling a rapier missile.

D. Sasongko, dean of ITB's industrial technology department
said ITB, the University of Indonesia in Jakarta and Gadjahmada
University in Yogyakarta had qualified human resources that could
be involved in conducting research and experiments in developing
the modern industry.

ITB, for example has many experts in nuclear technology,
aeronautical engineering, biotechnology and remote sensing
technology while UI has many experts in defense studies.

I Dewa Putu Rai, deputy chief of the National Planning and
Development Board (Bappenas), called on commercial banks to help
finance research programs in military technology and provide
credit to defense industries to produce the necessary military
equipment and machinery.

"The country should no longer depend on the export credit in
arms purchases because such a mechanism is no longer adequate in
meeting the demand for military equipment it needs at present,"
he said.

In addition, the government also plans to regroup all military
business entities into a major holding company to make them more
profitable in a bid to enable the military to cover its annual
routine expenditure and improve its personnel's social welfare,
who number 500,000.