Turkey, RI pen tank, technology deal

Turkey and Indonesia have signed agreements to jointly develop medium tanks and communication devices to forge closer cooperation, as well as to facilitate the much needed transfer of technology (ToT) for Indonesian defense companies, defense officials said on Wednesday.

The Defense Industry Policy Committee (KKIP) assistant for cooperation, Silmy Karim, said the agreements were signed during the 2013 International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul.

He said that the first agreement would see cooperation between FNSS Defence Systems and state arms maker PT Pindad to design and produce a medium tank while the second agreement was between Aselsan and state electronics maker PT LEN to make communications devices.

“The cooperation with Turkey is another forward step. We will also forge cooperation with other countries,” Karim said.

“We already cooperate with South Korea,” he added. This includes the suspended KFX/IFX jet fighter program and the plan to build a submarine in Indonesia using South Korean expertise.

Karim said Law No. 16/2012 on the defense industry paved the way for cooperation with foreign countries to help improve the capabilities of domestic defense companies.

Another cooperative measure is the local production of the Chinese anti-ship missile C-705, which is in its feasibility study and reverse engineering stages.

In conjunction with the IDEF, both countries also held a bilateral meeting on defense industrial cooperation, said Defense Ministry director general for defense potential Pos Hutabarat.

“We chose Turkey because it has considerably advanced defense industries,” he told in the briefing.

Pos said that three to four years were needed to develop tanks, three to five years for missiles and 10 to 15 years for jet fighters.

Also attending the briefing was the Defense Ministry’s industry technology director Air Commodore Darlis Pangaribuan, who said the FNSS-Pindad cooperation would consist of three phases in about three years.

“The first stage will see both companies submitting proposals on cooperation required to design and jointly produce the tank,” he said, adding that funding would come from both governments.

Karim said the tank cooperation was needed to master track a propulsion system for armored vehicles, while Pindad had mastered a wheeled propulsion system.

He added the tank scheme would be similar to the CN-295 medium transport aircraft that is jointly produced by Spanish-based Airbus Military and state aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia.

“In buying weapon systems, we require not only the end products but also the ToT process,” he said.

“With the Defense Industry Law, we will get the products, taxes, job creation and technology.”

Karim said that sourcing technologies from multiple countries would not create the so-called logistical nightmare but would instead help foster independence in making weapons.

Meanwhile, Pos said Indonesia had submitted a contract amendment to Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) to allow a submarine to be built from scratch in Indonesia, instead of merely assembling parts manufactured in South Korea.

  ●  The Jakarta Post