Jakarta – The Defense Ministry on Wednesday handed over domestically made security and defense equipment to all branches of the Indonesian Military (TNI), the Army, Navy and Air Force, at the National Monument (Monas).
Deputy Defense Minister M. Herindra and TNI commander Gen. Agus Subiyanto attended the symbolic handover of 769 units of mostly armored vehicles.
Army chief of staff Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak, Navy chief of staff Adm. Muhammad Ali, Air Force chief of staff Air Chief Marshal Mohamad Tonny Harjono and ministry officials witnessed the event.
"The TNI has received security and defense equipment from the government, including armored vehicles, tanks and other vehicles," Agus said on Wednesday, as reported by Antara.
Among the equipment handed over by the ministry were products from state-owned weapons manufacturer PT Pindad, local private company PT Sentra Surya Ekajaya (SSE), which specializes in tactical and multi-mission vehicles, and vehicle modification company PT Ralika, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The combat vehicles received by the TNI from Pindad included 23 Pandur 8x8 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), eight Harimau medium tanks, nine Anoa 6x6 armored personnel carriers (APCs), four Komodo 4x4 tactical vehicles and 250 Maung V3 light utility vehicles.
The Harimau medium tank is the result of a joint development and production effort between Pindad and Turkish weapons maker FNSS Savunma Sistemleri, which calls it the Kaplan.
Pindad locally produces the Pandur 8x8 APC under license from the Czechoslovak Group, which holds a license to produce and market the Pandur in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia. The original equipment maker for Pandur is Steyr-Daimler-Puch of Austria.
Sentra Surya Ekajaya contributed three 4x4 APCs, two 4x4 tactical vehicles, four V3 4x4 tactical vehicles, eight 4x4 missile launcher vehicles while PT Praba Cipta Mandiri provided eight rigid buoyancy boats.
Additionally, 250 troop transport trucks from Ralika were also handed over to the TNI as well as 200 e-bikes from state-owned electronic company PT LEN.
Some of the vehicles and defense equipment delivered on Wednesday will be showcased during a military parade commemorating the TNI's 79th anniversary at Monas on Saturday.
The TNI headquarters will deploy over 1,000 main weapons systems from the three branches of the military and approximately 100,000 personnel to participate in the annual show of strength.
The Army is deploying Maung and Bushmaster tactical vehicles, Anoa APCs, close quarter battle vehicles, decontamination vehicles, multipurpose combat vehicles carrying Mistral air defense missiles and light missile (LML) vehicles.
Other combat vehicles include Pandur II 8x8 IFVs, Anoa command vehicles, Badak 6x6 fire support vehicles (FSVs), Caesar 155mm self-propelled guns, Astros II multilaunch rocket systems (MLRS) vehicles, Leopard 2 main battle tanks, Marder IFVs and Harimau medium tanks.
Also being deployed are vehicles for water filtration, transportation, logistics and sanitation duties,
The Navy will showcase diver vehicles, rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs), Yakhont anti-ship missiles, Exocet MM40 Block 3 anti-ship missiles, BTR-4 8x8 amphibious IFVs, BMP-3F amphibious tracked IFVs, BTR-50 amphibious tracked APCs, PT-76M amphibious light tanks and LVT-7 amphibious assault vehicles. The Navy will also fly its naval aviation assets, such as the AS565 Mbe Panther medium helicopters.
The Air Force will fly its fleet of transport and combat aircraft and helicopters, such as Sukhoi Su-27/30 Flanker heavy jet fighters and F-16 Fighting Falcon medium jet fighters. On the parade ground, the Air Force is fielding various land vehicles, such as field kitchens, GPS jammers, mobile radars and anti-drone vehicles. (jan/nvn)