Prabowo Says the Addition of Rafale is a Milestone in the Strength of the Indonesian Defense

JAKARTA - The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, emphasized the importance of strengthening national defense as the key to maintaining the stability and sovereignty of the country. Moreover, faced with a global geopolitical situation full of uncertainty.

This was conveyed by Prabowo after officially receiving the addition of strategic weapons system (alutsista) main equipment for the Indonesian Air Force at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, Jakarta, Monday, May 18.

Indonesia received six Dassault Rafale fighter planes, four Dassault Falcon 8X VIP transport planes, one Airbus A400M Atlas transport plane, as well as modern Meteor missile and Smart Weapon Hammer weapons systems.

"Brothers and sisters, we just received the official addition of military equipment for the air force," said Prabowo.

The addition of this military equipment is part of the national military equipment modernization program carried out by Prabowo when he served as Minister of Defense in the previous government period.

Prabowo stated that the addition of the military equipment was one of the important milestones in strengthening national defense capabilities.

According to him, Indonesia must continue to increase its defense capabilities as a deterrent against various potential threats.

"This I think is one of the milestones of adding strength. We must continue to increase our defense strength as a deterrent. We have no interest other than to protect our own territory," he said.

Prabowo also highlighted the dynamics of world geopolitics which is currently filled with uncertainty. Therefore, Prabowo considers defense to be the main requirement to maintain stability and guarantee national sovereignty.

"But we see the world's geopolitical conditions full of uncertainty, and we know that defense is the main condition for stability. The guarantee that we can be sovereign," said Prabowo.

In the future, the government will continue to build and strengthen national defense capabilities in order to maintain the security of Indonesia's airspace, sea, and land.

"In the future, we will continue to build our strength. We want to secure our airspace, sea areas, and of course our land areas," he added.

The presence of Rafale will increase Indonesia's air combat capabilities, both in air-to-air and air-to-ground operations. Meanwhile, the presence of the Falcon 8X supports strategic mobility and surveillance missions.

On the other hand, the A400M MRTT strengthens the logistics transport capability and refueling in the air for long-distance operations. The GCI GM403 Radar plays an important role in the early detection system and national air defense control to maintain the sovereignty of the Indonesian airspace.