By Philip Iglauer

Indonesia is seeking to bolster its domestic aerospace industry in partnership with Korea to develop the KF-X fighter aircraft. The Indonesian Embassy here celebrated its 66th National Armed Forces Day in Seoul Wednesday.

“We do not have a specific enemy,” Captain Agus Rustandi, Defense Attache at the Indonesian Embassy, said. “We are developing a domestic defense industry to maintain a strong unified country.”

The KFX project was forged in 2009 when Jakarta’s Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and his Korean counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding during President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to Indonesia in 2009.

Then, the Indonesia government agreed in July 2010 to fund 20 percent of KFX project cost. Some 50 planes out of 200 to be built are destined for the Indonesian Air Force after project completion in 2020.

Indonesian officials in Seoul said the only way to complement the government’s plan to revitalize its defense industry is by procuring defense tools from other countries through partnerships like the one with Korea. This is also needed to both develop and make use of its current domestic defense systems.

This is just the first step,” Agus said. “We are still in the research and development stage of our partnership.” He said Indonesia has a good track record in similar joint ventures. One such partnership was with Spain in the 1980s, and that aircraft is widely used today.

Construcciones Aeronauticas SA and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN jointly developed the CN-235, a medium-range twin-engine transport plane as a regional airliner and military transport. Its primary military roles include maritime patrol, surveillance and air transport. Its largest user is Turkey which has 61 aircraft.

The Defense Cooperative Industry Center in Daejeon recently opened as part of the Korea-Indonesia military partnership.
Korea's Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin visited Indonesia in September to discuss future partnerships. Indonesia agreed to buy Korean-made aircraft and submarines and Korea agreed to buy Indonesian CN-235s.

The two countries have already inked deals worth billions of dollars. Seoul and Jakarta signed several military deals, including co-developing new fighter jets and the export of South Korean-made armored personnel carriers and the T-50 trainer aircraft.

At the September meeting, Jakarta’s defense minister said, “We learn from Korea how to be independent. There is no such thing as a strong country if its defense industry is not strong.”