Indonesia will no longer pursue the development of the Elang Hitam drone as a military platform, said the Chairman of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Laksana Tri Handoko as reported by Janes.com on Thursday (Sept. 15).
He further stated that the resources for the development of the Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) will be diverted to the civilian sector, effectively disbanding the project’s consortium that was established in 2017. The Indonesian Ministry of Defense, Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU), PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), PT Len Industri, the National Institute of Aviation and Space (LAPAN), the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) were the members of this consortium.
Furthermore, after news about BRIN’s decision to divert its development into a civilian drone broke out last July, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and TNI-AU responded that they will pull themselves out of the project.
Even though it was listed as one of the strategic and priority projects of the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, the cancelation of the Elang Hitam UCAV project has put a blow to the country’s desire to develop and manufacture its own unmanned combat aerial platform. To date, three unarmed Wulung UAVs made by PTDI are the only locally developed drones operated by TNI-AU. These UAVs only see limited deployment due to their short-range, low-altitude, and low-endurance.
Currently, TNI-AU only has six Chinese-made CH-4B Rainbows armed with AR-1 and AR-2 missiles as its UCAV platform. While the service previously expressed its interest in acquiring UCAVs from NATO/Western sources (with candidates ranging from Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2, Akinci, and TAI Anka, to American-made General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper), no further progress has been reported since.
The Tournai, the third vessel in the Belgian-Dutch robotic Mine Counter Measure (rMCM) programme, was launched on 2nd July 2024…
Turkish Airlines has placed an order for four additional Boeing 777 Freighters, further solidifying its position in the global air…
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a member of the SATS Group, has increased its cargo handling capacity by 60% at Adolfo…
The Indonesian Navy (TNI Angkatan Laut/TNI AL) is set to enhance its Military Sealift Command (Komando Lintas Laut Militer/Kolinlamil) by…
Estonian developer of robotics and autonomous systems, Milrem Robotics, has opened a centre of excellence for ground robotics in Poland.…
AirAsia X (AAX) has introduced a new route to Nairobi, Kenya, via Kuala Lumpur, starting on 15 November 2024. This…
PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) is actively seeking to expand its market reach into Africa and Latin America, focusing on the…
Korean Air has revised its cabin service protocols to bolster passenger and crew safety in response to increasing turbulence incidents,…
Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’s largest airline has signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for the purchase…
Boeing has delivered the first CH-47F Block II Chinook helicopter to the U.S. Army as part of the service’s ongoing…
Air Astana is set to increase its flight services between Kazakhstan and China, following new agreements from the China-Central Asia…
Emirates has announced the first cities to be served by its newly refurbished Boeing 777 cabin interiors. The airline will…
Airbus has signed a binding term sheet agreement with Spirit AeroSystems, considering the potential acquisition of several major Airbus-related activities.…
Jens Fehlinger has been named the new CEO of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), effective 1 October 2024. He will…
The Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement (OCCAR) has commissioned Fincantieri to construct the fourth submarine in the U212NFS…
French shipbuilder Naval Group has handed over the Gowind corvette Al Emarat to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday (Jun.…
TE Connectivity (TE), a leader in connectivity and sensors, has expanded its VITA 66 optical backplane interconnect family with the…
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and Lockheed Martin are collaborating to provide Net-Enabled Weapons (NEW) capability for the MQ-9B…
Boeing has completed the upgrade and life extension of the first two service life modification (SLM) F/A-18 Block III Super…
Safran Helicopter Engines and MTU Aero Engines have formed a joint venture to enable the joint development of a new…
Preliminary May 2024 traffic figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) show solid expansion in both international…
Leonardo has announced that its AW609 tiltrotor programme set another major industry capability milestone after its first successful ship trial,…
Challenge Group and China Henan Aviation, the holding company of Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport (IATA: CGO), have signed a Memorandum…
At a recent event held at Kopter's facility in Mollis, Switzerland, Leonardo announced the appointment of Aero Facility as the…
Vard Marine Inc. (VARD), part of Fincantieri, has announced Thordon Bearings Inc. as a preferred supplier for the VIGILANCE project,…
The GOES-U weather satellite, constructed by Lockheed Martin for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was launched from NASA's…
Sener, a Spanish industrial engineering and technology group, has delivered the first units of servo-actuators for the Lilium Jet, which…
Indonesian state-owned land systems defence company, PT PINDAD, has announced plans to develop a lighter version of the Harimau (Tiger)…
The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is reportedly exploring the potential procurement of Russia's Sukhoi Su-57 (NATO: Felon) or South…
Korean Air has announced an expansion of its cargo Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) programme in partnership with global logistics company…
Headquartered in Singapore with reporters spread across all major regions, GBP Aerospace & Defence is a leading media house that publishes three publications that serve the aerospace and defence sector - Asian Defence Technology, Asian Airlines & Aerospace and Daily News. Known industry-wide for quality journalism, GBP Aerospace & Defence is present at more international tradeshows and exhibitions than any other competing publication in the region.
For over three decades, our award-winning team of reporters has been producing top-notch content to help readers stay abreast of the latest developements in the field of commercial aviation, MRO, defence, and Space.
Copyright 2024. GBP. All Rights Reserved.
Home Defence & Security Space Commercial Aviation Maintence Repair & Overhaul Daily News Events About Us
2024 GBP all rights reserved.