Page 20 - ADT MAY-JUNE 2022 Online Magazine

Revived Air Missile (SAM) system made by the Soviet Union. Indonesia is [ MISSILE SYSTEMS ]

noted to have received at least three S-75 missile batteries, each
consisting of six launchers, deployed into three squadrons to pro-
tect the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. Each battery of these S-75
SAM systems, codenamed "SA-2 Guideline" by NATO, provided
Defence
Jakarta with a 30-45 km radius of "umbrella protection" between
the mid-1960s to late 1970s. Unfortunately, all three of the TNI-
AU’s S-75 squadrons were deactivated in the early 1980s due to
the Soviet Union’s withdrawal of spares and support following the
Indonesian crackdown on communists from 1966 to 1975. With the
deactivation of these squadrons, the country was practically left
INDONESIA IS MAKING LONG “naked” without any medium or long-range SAM protection until
OVERDUE UPGRADES TO ITS more than three decades later.
LONG-RANGE AIR DEFENCE
CAPABILITY Renewed Drive
It was not until the second half of the 2000s that TNI-AU began
Yulian Ardiansyah to seriously consider re-acquiring medium to long-range ground-
based air defence missile capability. However, although there were
talks to acquire SAM systems such as Russia’s S-300 or Chinese-
As an archipelagic country located in a very made HQ-9, nothing came to fruition until 2017 when the Indonesian
strategic position, Indonesia needs reliable Ministry of Defense (Kementerian Pertahanan/Kemhan) ordered
air defence assets to protect the country's air two batteries of NASAMS (National/Norwegian Advanced Surface
space from foreign airborne threats. In addition to Air Missile System) from Kongsberg of Norway.
to the main weapon system in the form of fighter
aircraft and radar installations - both statically Delivered in 2020, each of these NASAMS batteries is armed
mounted on the ground and early warning air- with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles to provide ground-based aerial
craft - the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) as an defence capability for up to 30-40 km effective range and 20 km
air defence branch of the Indonesian military of altitude. They are now operational under the TNI-AU’s National
(TNI) also requires deterrence capability in the Air Operations Command (Komando Operasi Udara Nasional/
form of ground-based anti-aircraft missiles. Koopsudnas) to protect the airspace above Jakarta and its
International airport. The acquisition of these NASAMS batteries
does not mean that all of TNI-AU's ground-based air defense needs
Potent Past have been met. Due to its effective range with ground-launched
If we look briefly at the past, in the 1960s, the AIM-120 missiles that categorized it as a medium-range SAM, the
TNI-AU operated the S-75 Dvina Surface to Indonesian Air Force is still aiming to add another layer of pro-

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