What Are the Capabilities of the TNI's New Combat Weapons Procured by Prabowo?

President Prabowo Subianto has handed over a number of new main weapon systems (alutsista) to the Indonesian Armed Forces Headquarters for use by the TNI Air Force on Monday, 18 May. The new equipment comprises several items, including six Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft, an Airbus A400M transport aircraft, four Dassault Falcon 8X jets, Meteor air-to-air Beyond Visual Range missiles, the AASM Hammer smart weapon, and the GM403 GCI radar.

Dassault Rafale

This 4.5-generation fighter aircraft has a length of 10.30 metres, a wingspan of 10.90 metres, and a height of 5.30 metres. With those dimensions, the aircraft can accelerate to a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 and reach an altitude of up to 50,000 feet. This performance is enabled by Snecma M88 engines, each of which is capable of delivering thrust up to kN, and up to kN with afterburner. The aircraft can carry up to 9,500 kilograms of ordnance on 14 hardpoints. The Government has purchased 42 of these aircraft, and six have arrived in Indonesia to date. The six Rafale fighters are currently stationed at Skadron 12, Lanud Roesmin Nurjadin, Pekanbaru, Riau.

Airbus A400M transport aircraft

Indonesia’s largest transport aircraft plays a vital role in a range of military operations and humanitarian missions. In humanitarian missions, the transport can be deployed as a logistics carrier for large-scale disaster response, as a hospital aircraft, or to carry heavy equipment for evacuation. For military operations, the aircraft can support air drops, transport of combat logistics, and movement of tactical vehicles (rantis) for soldiers.

This aircraft has a cargo space with a volume of 340 square metres and a cross-sectional area of 4 by 4 metres. Payload capacity can reach 47 tonnes, with up to 166 personnel and various rantis onboard. With that weight, the aircraft can still fly at a maximum speed of 0.72 Mach (approximately 780 km/h), reach an altitude of 40,000 feet, and cover a range of up to 8,900 kilometres. All of this is possible thanks to its four Europrop International TP400-D6 turboprop engines, each delivering 10,838 horsepower.

Dassault Falcon 8X

This jet business aircraft, also from the same French manufacturer, offers long-range capabilities with a maximum non-stop range of 11,945 kilometres. With three Pratt & Whitney Canada PW307D engines, the aircraft seats 13 to 16 passengers and can reach a maximum speed of Mach 0.80.

Meteor missile (Air-to-Air Beyond Visual Range)

The Meteor missile intended for installation on Rafale jets offers a number of advantages, including a range of up to 200 kilometres. The missile is equipped with a Variable Flow Ducted Ramjet (VFDR) engine that enables sustained high supersonic speed.

AASM Hammer smart weapon

This weapon, developed by the Safran Group of France, is designed to destroy targets on land or at sea. The weapon consists of a guidance kit and a rocket motor mounted on a standard bomb, giving it long-range glide and high-precision with a fire-and-forget system. It can engage targets at more than 50–70 kilometres from high altitude and around 15 kilometres when launched from a low altitude.

GM403 GCI radar

According to the Ministry of Defence’s official site, the GM403 radar functions as an early warning air defence system to monitor, identify, and track movements of aircraft and foreign air objects in real time. The radar is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) which provides rapid track capability and resistance to enemy jamming. With a radar range of up to 450 kilometres, this radar type plays a role in escorting interceptors and manoeuvring aircraft in their missions.”