Mine Hunter and Super Hercules Ships that Strengthen the Indonesian Armed Forces

The TNI's strength posture was strengthened by the successive presence of two mine-hunting ships and a transport aircraft that had just arrived from the factory.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Kapal Pemburu Ranjau dan Super Hercules yang Memperkuat TNI

KEMHAN

Sailing pass eight KRIs, Monday (14/8/2023), after the handover of two KRIs of the mine counter measurement vessel type, at Koarmada II Surabaya.

The Ministry of Defense handed over two Indonesian warships (KRI), namely KRI Pulau Fani-731 and KRI Pulau Fanildo-732, to increase the strength of the Indonesian Navy, Monday (14/8/2023) , as well as a C-130 J Super Hercules for the Indonesian Air Force, Tuesday (15/8/2023), which is the third of the five units ordered.

The Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto handed over KRI to the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, Admiral Yudo Margono, and the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, Admiral TNI Muhammad Ali, while the aircraft with registration number A-1343 was handed over by the Deputy Minister of Defense, Muhammad Herindra, to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force, Air Marshal Madya A Gustaf Brugman.

"Today, Indonesia received new and modern defense equipment as a result of Indonesia's cooperation with the government of the Federal Republic of Germany," said Prabowo.

The arrival of these defense equipment is one of the solid evidence of the close cooperation between the two countries and the Ministry of Defense in particular. Prabowo emphasized that, as an archipelagic country, Indonesia needs a strong military force.

The handover of the KRI was followed by a sailing pass at the Madura Ujung Pier, Koarmada II Surabaya. The eight ships that appeared on the sailing pass were KRI Pulau Fani-731, KRI Pulau Fanildo-732, KRI Kapak-625, KRI Panah-626, KRI Halasan-630, KRI Tombak-629, KRI Sampari -628, and KRI Golok-688.

The first commander of KRI Pulau Fani-731 is entrusted to Lt. Col. (Navy) Mufianto Machfud, while the commander of KRI Pulau Fanildo-732 is entrusted to Lt. Col. (Navy) Slamet Ariyadi.

Head of the Information Center of the TNI Headquarters Rear Admiral Julius Widjojono stated that the purchase plan for the two advanced ships was proposed by the Chief of Staff of the Navy Admiral Ade Supandi in 2015. The ships, built at the Abeking and Resmussen Shipyard in Lamwerder, Bremen, Germany, are type of minesweepers that will strengthen the fleet of the Navy's Minesweeper Unit (Satran) Koarmada II, as planned.

KOMANDO ARMADA II

The Atmosphere of Netting Exercise in the Northern Waters of Java by the Second Fleet Command of the Navy.

This type of ship Mine Counter Meassure Vessel (MCMV) has a specification of 61.4 meters in length, 11.1 meters in width, 1,444 tonnes displacement with a maximum speed of 18 knots and a cruising speed of 10 knots and economical speed of 10 knots. This ship is also equipped with four units of lift craft and two units of Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB).

This German manufacturer ship is made of non-magnetic steel, has a degaussing system to reduce the ship's magnetism, equipped with an electric motor drive that is able to minimize noise. This ship is also equipped with an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (UAV) which is used to help detect and identify contacts in the water.

Another advantage of this ship is that it has an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) which functions as an unmanned vessel that cleans and sweeps mines from the surface of the sea. There is also a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Platform and underwater sonar equipment to detect threats from deep waters.

"The existence of both Navy ships is due to the remaining sea mines from World War II in Indonesian waters, and the dynamic development of sea mines technology nowadays," said Julius.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Head of the TNI Information Center Rear Admiral Julius Widjojono (center)

According to Prabowo, military power is a fundamental requirement that must be fulfilled by a country in order to maintain its sovereignty. The success in building this ship, according to him, is evidence of the government's seriousness in ensuring the sovereignty of the nation and the state.

Also read: TNI AU Receives Third Super Hercules, First Mission Waiting for Pilot Readiness

Super Hercules

On a separate occasion, the symbolic handover of a Super Hercules aircraft was marked by the unveiling of the Air Squadron 31 logo, the breaking of a ceremonial pitcher, and the watering of the plane's front wheel by Baseops Lanud Halim Perdanakusuma in Jakarta on Tuesday (15/8/3023). Shortly afterwards, Indonesian Deputy Defense Minister Muhammad Herindra handed over the symbolic key of the aircraft to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force.

Herindra stated that the procurement of advanced transport aircraft is a tangible manifestation of Defense Minister Prabowo's commitment to modernizing the Indonesian Armed Forces' arsenal, particularly the Air Force, to make it more capable of safeguarding the integrity of the Republic of Indonesia.

"In the future, we will continue to improve and modernize the outdated airplanes," said Herindra.

The A-1343 aircraft purchased by the government (Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia) from the United States' Lokcheed Martim factory is the third of five units that have been ordered. Previously, the Indonesian Air Force had received two C-130 J Super Hercules units from the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, each of which had tail numbers A-1339 and A-1340. Tail number A-1341 already belongs to a Hercules VVIP type H, and number A-1342 is still being finalized at the Locheed Martin aircraft factory in Marietta, Georgia, USA.

DISPEN TNI AU

The symbolic handover of the Super Hercules aircraft was marked by the unveiling of the Air Squadron 31 logo by Deputy Defense Minister Muhammad Herindra on Tuesday (August 15, 2023).

So, aircraft A-1343 is actually the fourth C-130J-30 aircraft, but because it had finished production and testing earlier, it was sent to Indonesia before aircraft A-1342 and A-1344, which are scheduled to arrive in January and February of next year.

Head of the Indonesian Air Force Information Service First Marshal Agung Sasongkojati said the delivery of the aircraft from the factory, Lokcheed Martin Marietta, Georgia, United States of America, to Indonesia was carried out by ferry flight, for more than 33 hours. The shipping route passes through Marrieta, San Diego, Honolulu, Kwajalein, Guam, and Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Jakarta.