Prabowo Gives 2 Anti-Submarine Helicopters To The Indonesian Navy

Photo via Antara

JAKARTA - Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto, handed over two units of AS565 MBe Panther Anti-Submarine Helicopters (AKS) and one unit of CN235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) to the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy (KSAL), Admiral Yudo Margono.

The defense equipment produced by PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) was received directly by Minister of Defense Prabowo from PT DI President Director Gita Amperiawan and then handed over to KSAL Admiral TNI Yudo Margono, at the PT DI Aircraft Service Hangar, Bandung, Wednesday 15 June, quoted from Antara.

Defense Minister Prabowo emphasized that the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is working hard so that the budget spent is directed to the domestic defense industry.

"This is our determination to continue to strengthen the domestic defense industry which is very vital for the survival and safety of the nation", said Defense Minister Prabowo in a press release.

"This nation must be strong. Our nation is big and rich. If we are not strong, our wealth can be confiscated. For that, the TNI must be strong to our wealth", he said.

The CN235 MPA aircraft that was handed over is the first PT DI aircraft that has been modified and upgraded to all of its avionic systems using the latest "full glass cockpit" technology and integrated digital displays, where the TKDN composition reaches 42.56 percent.

With all the modifications and developments of the "mission system", PT DI has absorbed 122,000 "man-hours" in the engineering area, of which 30.1 percent are millennial engineers (engineers) that are the pride of PT DI.

Meanwhile, the number of "man-hours" absorbed in the production area was 393,000 "man-hours", with the contribution of millennials reaching 40 percent.

The AS565 MBe Panther helicopter that was handed over on the same occasion was a Naval Version Helicopter, the product of industrial cooperation between PT DI and Airbus Helicopters, which was then continued with the development and integration of AKS by PT DI.

PT DI installed the latest variant of torpedo and sonar that was adapted to the needs of the Indonesian Navy.

"Thank you for the hard work of PT DI. Keep the trust of the state and nation, achieve high technology, maintain efficiency, we must improve PTDI", said Prabowo.

Also present at the handover of the CN235 MPA aircraft and AKS helicopters were the Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (FTMD) of the Bandung Institute of Technology Tata Cipta Dirgantara, Asrenum TNI Commander Rear Admiral TNI Heru Kusmanto, Head of the Defense Facilities Agency of the Ministry of Defense, Marshal TNI Yusuf Jauhari, and Head of the Research and Development Agency of the Ministry of Defense, Marshal TNI Julexi Tambayong.