‘Panser kanon’ starting point for genuine defense industry

Badak Pindad [windu paramarta]

The opening of the Indonesian Defense Expo 2014 on Wednesday was marked with all the usual defense trade-show hoopla: men and women in business suits mingling with those from the military, exchanging information, vying and trying to seal multi-million dollar deals.

During the event, Bandung-based state arms maker PT Pindad exhibits its newest product the AFV panser kanon (armored fighting vehicle armed with cannon).

The armored vehicle seems to prove that the homegrown defense industry has found its foothold and is bringing the country closer to self-sufficiency in defense equipment.

There are, however, some serious flaws both in the design of the AFV and in the land-defense industrial capability now spearheaded by PT Pindad in general.

First, although it looks menacing, nobody in defense circles still believe in 90mm low-pressure cannon as a main armament. A 1960s development, 90mm low-pressure and low-velocity guns have been superseded by two kinds of weapons: high-pressure larger caliber guns and smaller but rapid-firing cannon.

The panser kanon, popularly known as a tank destroyer/ mobile gun system, employs a larger gun that traditionally is installed in main battle tanks like the Leopard.

The prime example of this class is the Centauro 1B, now in service with the Italian Army with a 105mm gun and the Stryker Mobile Gun System, also with a 105mm gun M68, descendants of the British Royal Ordnance L7 gun, which was the mainstay of main battle tanks in the 1970s.

The larger the gun the better, since tank-destroyer doctrine emphasizes firepower and agility to destroy main battle tanks. Direct impact from a 90mm low-pressure gun will not even scratch the skin of a main battle tank, as was proven by the South Africans in the 1980s border war against Angola. The turret on a panser kanon is installed without a fire-control stabilizer that would enable the vehicle to maneuver in a running battle.

Before firing, the panser kanon has to stop to allow its commander to calculate firing solutions, while the enemy has already made a move or has started attacking.

Compared with other AFV which have small rapid-fire cannons, the panser kanon does not stand a chance. A rapid-firing cannon such as the Rheinmetall 202 20mm installed in the Marder 1A3 or the M242 Bushmaster on American M2 Bradley AIFV firing 25mm NATO-standard shells are the current trend in AFV development, offering lighter loads and efficient penetration capabilities.

The M242 Bushmaster has proven its mettle, destroying Iraqi T-72M1 main battle tanks in the invasion of Iraq. Ninety-mm low-pressure guns take longer to reload and are surely more expensive and, lest we forget, are more prone to collateral damage in urban fighting. Rapid-firing cannon are more accurate and a trained gunner can produce pinpoint accuracy in a target-rich environment.

Learning from our past military operations against small-scale insurgencies, a rapid-firing cannon is more suitable for those kind of missions. The second flaw lies in Pindad’s capabilities. Lauded as a regional player, Pindad still has a lot to learn from fellow regional manufacturers such as Singapore Technologies Kinetics.

Although Pindad now can add the Anoa infantry carrier and the panser kanon to its belt, much of the major components for the two products are still imported.

Up until now, Indonesia does not have the capability to develop armor-grade steel and has to rely on imported materials, an irony considering that Indonesia is home to global steel producer Posco-Krakatau Steel.

In the event of an arms embargo, as has been the case in the past, our fleet of Anoas and panser kanon would not be operational.

This is not acceptable from the economic point of view, since Pindad still has to fork out to buy the turret and the end result will be pricier compared to buying foreign-made armor.

What President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo must do with his Cabinet is to initiate a concerted effort that involves all stakeholders in building national defense capabilities.

On a positive note, Indonesia has some serious potential, scattered across many state-owned and civilian companies.

Krakatau Steel can be pushed to produce armor-grade steel to produce hulls and gun barrels, as long as this meets economies of scale. PT LEN, which claimed to be able to make combat-management systems for the Navy’s ships surely can be ordered to conduct research and create solutions in AFV fire-control systems, including optics, laser rangefinders and thermal cameras. Pindad, which itself has aligned with the Rheinmetall/Denel Munition company, can start producing artillery munitions in the near future.

Meanwhile higher-education institutions, which now fall under their own ministry, can conduct research aligning with military and defense needs.

The road to berdikari (self-sufficiency) is long and winding and can be quite challenging considering the Indonesian people’s habit of expecting instant results.

Jokowi still has five full years ahead to accomplish this and leave a lasting legacy in building Indonesian defense capabilities.
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The author is a military book writer and contributor for www.arc.web.id, a leading news portal covering military and geopolitcal issues.

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