JAKARTA: Indonesia has agreed to accept 14 drones and three helicopters from the United States to strengthen maritime patrol operations in the archipelago.
The Defence Ministry will be getting the Insitu ScanEagle drones and Bell 412 helicopters after the Commission I of the People’s Representative Council approved to accept the grant from the US.
According to The Jakarta Post, the commission which looks after intelligence, defence and foreign affairs, however, reminded the ministry to reassess the drones and the helicopters for the sake of national security.
“We ask the government to take precautionary measures such as to ensure that there are no wiretapping tools left attached unintentionally (in the equipment),” the House of Representative Council Commission I chairwoman Meutya Hafid said.
“There is no need to be overly suspicious when a country that has a defence cooperation with (Indonesia) decides to give a grant but cautiousness is still necessary.”
Meutya’s decision followed a meeting with the ministry, including Deputy Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono.
Sakti said in 2014 and 2015, the US offered the Indonesian military (TNI) a grant under Foreign Military Financing (FMF).
The navy accepted the offer in 2017, which covered a grant consisting of the drones, unmanned aerial vehicles built by Boeing subsidiary Insitu, and an upgrade of the helicopters.
The ministry had set up an assessment team to examine the technical, economic and political aspects before deciding it was strategic for Indonesia to accept the grant.
The drones, valued at US$28.3 million (RM119 million), will help improve the navy’s intelligence surveillance reconnaissance and ultimately strengthen the nation’s defence system, Sakti said.
He also believed that the three helicopters worth US$6.3 million would be able to improve the navy’s efficiency in carrying out military operations and increase the capabilities of national defence.
“ScanEagle drones will only be used by the navy for special purposes. We will only spend around 10 billion rupiah (US$719,886) to integrate and ensure the data security of the equipment with other defence systems,” Sakti said, adding that state-owned electronic components maker PT LEN Industri would handle the integration.