February 11, 2022 – Page 4 – Indonesia News Gazette

February 11, 2022

Indonesia To Buy 42 Warplanes, Two Submarines From France

Indonesia will purchase 42 Rafale warplanes and two Scorpene-class submarines from France, to update its defence equipment.

The deal came, after Indonesia’s Minister of Defence, Prabowo Subianto, met with his French counterpart, Florence Parly, here, yesterday.

The warplane purchase agreement was signed by the CEO of French aircraft manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier, and head of the Defence Infrastructure Agency of Indonesia’s Defence Ministry, Yusuf Jauhari.

“We signed the deal to buy six warplanes first. The rest, 36 will be purchased in the near future. We will also support each other in weaponry trainings,” Subianto said, in a virtual press conference, after the bilateral meeting.

Meanwhile, the deal to buy two Scorpene-class submarines was signed by Indonesia’s state-owned shipbuilder, PT PAL and France’s NAVAL Group.

Indonesia is currently improving its military infrastructure, including the primary weapon system and security equipment, as part of its efforts to upgrade its defence capability.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

February 11, 2022

U.S. approves $13.9 billion potential sale of F-15ID aircraft to Indonesia

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of F-15ID aircraft and related equipment to Indonesia in a deal valued at up to $13.9 billion, the Pentagon said on Thursday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Earlier in the day, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said the country was planing on buying 42 Rafale fighter jets in a $8.1 billion deal as part of a series of agreements also including submarine development.

The country has been seeking to overhaul its ageing air fleet for a while, which up until today includes U.S.-made F-16 and Russian Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30 jets.

Media reports have said Indonesia wanted to buy more than 70 jets from France and the United States.

Boeing is the principal contractor for the F-15 jets, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a release.

The package would include 36 jets, spare engines, radars, night vision goggles training and technical support, the Pentagon said.

The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale on Thursday.

Despite approval by the State Department, the notification does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded.

Source: TREND News Agency

February 11, 2022

Police chief inspects security, health protocols for MotoGP test

National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo conducted an in-person check of the security and health protocols for the MotoGP pre-season test at the Madalika Circuit, West Nusa Tenggara, on Friday.

“We directly checked the security preparations for the entire series of pre-season activities and the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia MotoGP that will be held in March,” Prabowo noted as quoted from his written statement.

The police chief made assurance of having addressed all problems that had arisen at the Mandalika Circuit. The same was also true with regard to the health protocols being strictly implemented, starting from the entry gates to Indonesia.

The health protocols are implemented at accommodation places and up to the Mandalika Circuit location. Inspections ranging from documents to RT-PCR tests, and daily antigen tests as well as managing area limitations for participants, officials, and the public are also implemented.

Prabowo ensured that the travel bubble policy is being implemented in accordance with the standard operating procedure (SOP), so that the event could run safely and smoothly while still taking into account the health of all parties involved.

“We see that the travel bubble system to maintain health protocols is running well,” he affirmed.

The Police chief confirmed that as many as 1,598 joint personnel from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (Polri), as well as other parties will be deployed to secure the event.

“Of course, there will be further deployment (of personnel) that are adjusted to the pattern of security and threats faced,” he stated.

He remarked that the TNI and Polri along with the regional leadership coordination forum (Forkopimda) and the Mandalika MotoGP field coordinator Air Marshal (Ret.) Hadi Tjahjanto continue to conduct evaluations for the smooth running of the 2022 MotoGP Official Test and the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia

“In general, I see that everything is going well. Evaluation will continue to be conducted by the Regional Police chief in coordination with the field coordinator, so that all series of events can run safely and the health protocols can be implemented as expected,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News

February 11, 2022

Indonesian police arrest Three suspected terrorists from group affiliated to Daesh

The Indonesian Police announced yesterday that, they have arrested three suspected terrorists affiliated to the Daesh-linked terrorist group, Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), in the Indonesian province of Bengkulu.

The National Police’s spokesman, Ahmad Ramadhan, said, the three suspects arrested by anti-terrorism unit, Densus 88, on Wednesday, were allegedly affiliated to the JI’s networking in North Sumatra, Riau and South Sumatra provinces.

“They have pledged allegiance to the JI since 1999,” he told reporters in Jakarta.

According to Ramadhan, the suspects have played roles in raising funds and helping those suspects who are on the police’s wanted list.

The JI is an organisation that has long been accused of being behind a series of bomb attacks in Indonesia.

The deadliest attack was the bombing of two nightclubs in Bali, on Oct 12, 2002, which killed 202 people.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

February 11, 2022

National Police ships secure waters around Mandalika Circuit

The National Police Headquarters has put three ships on standby around the waters of Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, to secure the convening of the 2022 MotoGP pre-season test at Mandalika Circuit.

“The ships, which are under the command of Water and Air Corps of Indonesian National Police, have arrived at the venue to secure the event,” Head of Public Relations of the NTB Regional Police Senior Commissioner Artanto informed here on Friday.

Currently, the ships are on standby along with the national police’s AW-169 helicopter, which routinely conducts air patrols around the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit area, he said.

For securing the MotoGP pre-season test, the NTB regional police is closely coordinating with other security authorities, including the navy, air force, state-owned ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry, Port Authority and Harbormaster Office (KSOP), National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), and state-run airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I, he added.

To strengthen the security preparations for the racing event, the national police has held several limited meetings with related stakeholders and carried out security simulations in water areas, he said.

Furthermore, the NTB regional police official is looking into any matter which is seen to have the potential to disrupt the implementation of the event, he added.

“Our monitoring and securing attempts have been supported by a quite large number of personnel and the additional supporting security facilities. It is part of our joint efforts to succeed the event,” Artanto remarked.

The 2022 MotoGP pre-season test at Mandalika Circuit is taking place from February 11–13, 2022. On the first day of the test, Repsol Honda’s Pol Espargaro emerged as the fastest rider, followed by Aprilia Team’s Aleix Espargaro and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder.

The 2022 MotoGP Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia will be implemented on March 18–20, 2022.

Source: Antara News