Valuable Lessons on Used Weapons Systems

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Combat vehicle parade after the Commemoration Ceremony of the 74th Anniversary of the Marine Corps in 2019 at the Marine Corps Sutedi Senaputra, Bhumi Marinir Karangpilang, Surabaya, East Java, Friday (11/15/2019).

Shortages in defense budgets often motivate the procurement of used and outdated primary weapons systems as an alternative option to acquiring new equipment, but it is an option that later becomes burdensome and fails to create a deterrent effect.

Quoting data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Indonesia\'s defense budget has not exceeded 1 percent of its gross domestic product since the year 2000. Compare this with Singapore, where the defense budget can reach 3.3 percent of GDP, and Malaysia with 1.5 percent of GDP.

Used or outdated primary weapon systems (alutsista) are often chosen to address urgent needs amid budget constraints. A number of examples in the past show this, including when the government purchased the A-4E Skyhawk fighter from Israel in 1979, the Leopard main battle tank from Germany in 2012 and three multirole light frigates from Brunei Darussalam in 2014.

Also read: Archipelagic State Defense

However, the public\'s encouragement has made President Joko Widodo convey several times his commitment not to buy used defense equipment.

So, it is not surprising that the information leaked by the Austrian Defense Ministry about Indonesia\'s plan to buy 15 second-hand Eurofighter Typhoons in mid-July has drawn controversy. Apart from not being in accordance with the President\'s commitment, there is the issue of high costs in terms of operating the aircraft, as well as concerns over the aircraft\'s life year, spare parts and maintenance.

These problems have appeared with the purchase of used defense equipment by previous administrations.

Take, for example, the purchase of East German warships based on Presidential Instruction No. 3 of 1992. There were 39 warships consisting of 16 Parchim Class corvettes, 14 LST (landing ship tanks) Frosch Class, and 9 mine sweepers.

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

A number of residents visited the 543 KRI Teluk Cirebon at Cirebon Harbor, Cirebon City, West Java, Monday (9/12/2019). This ship was built September 28, 1979 in East Germany.

Adm. (ret.) Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno, who used to be the Commander of the KRI Teluk Lampung of the Frosch Class, said the East German ships were actually designed to operate in the calm Baltic Sea.

The Baltic Sea is surrounded by mainland Europe and has a narrow and shallow outlet. It is not surprising that the water is relatively calm and the level of salinity is low because of the large number of river estuaries. The salinity of the Baltic Sea is around 10 grams of salt per 1,000 grams of seawater; in Indonesia, it is between 32-34 grams. The Baltic Sea is also relatively small at 377,000 square km, which compares to Indonesia\'s 5.8 million sq km of ocean territory.

Vice Adm. (ret.) Widodo, who was once the deputy commander of the KRI Gilimanuk and commander of KRI Cirebon, both East German warships, added that the initial design of the ships was for one attack from East Germany to West Germany via the Baltic, "not for the high seas, let alone the ocean," he said.

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Tedjo also admitted that the ship was not for the high seas. However, both Tedjo and Widodo acknowledged the quality of the ships in the early days of use. Even though they were bought by Indonesia after not having been used for three years and some repairs here and there, the metal quality was good and the speed was very high.

Indonesian needs

However, the speed of the East German warships comes at the consequence of fuel waste and short operation times. These two things are not suitable for Indonesia, which requires ships that can patrol the wide sea areas without frequent stops.

The other problem is the expensive maintenance. With the high salinity of Indonesian waters, these vessels rust easily. Widodo said the ship had to be repainted with antirust paint every month.

Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo

A parade of combat vehicles at Halim Perdanakusuma Airfield, Jakarta, to celebrate the TNI\'s 74th Anniversary, Saturday (5/10/2019).

Here the function began to decline, because, if the spare parts were genuine, everything was proper, including the absorption of ship vibrations and other things

Regarding the spare parts, there were an initial 300 containers of spare parts as part of the purchase package. However, due to the difficulty of arrangement, the spare parts were difficult to find when needed. To make matters worse, the ship wharf was closed. As a result, the crew had to find or manufacture similar parts to replace old ones.

"Here the function began to decline, because, if the spare parts were genuine, everything was proper, including the absorption of ship vibrations and other things," said Widodo.

Potential for corruption

Apart from these problems, the procurement of East German warships attracted the biggest controversy because of the alleged inflated procurement budget to more than ten times the original price. This case shows the purchase of defense equipment has the potential to be an arena for corruption.

Regarding the potential for corruption, the head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Defense Ministry, Djoko Purwanto, emphasized that there was a monitoring mechanism in the form of an ad hoc monitoring team.

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With regard to the current procurement of defense equipment, Deputy Defense Minister Wahyu Trenggono has said that the TNI needed temporary defense equipment. For example, the Eurofighter Typhoon was needed, among other things, to train pilots and cover the time until the arrival of new planes, procurement of which takes at least five years. (Kompas, 24/7/2020).

Apart from that, the procurement of warships from Germany should be a lesson. The most important thing is that the purpose of buying defense equipment is to have a deterrent effect. When buying old and outdated defense equipment, the deterrent effect will obviously be compromised.