With over 17,000 islands and a territory stretching across 1.9 million square kilometers, ensuring air sovereignty is a strategic priority for Indonesia. Over the last 35 years, Thales has been supporting the ambitions of the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) through the supply of air defense radars and air operation centers throughout the country.
At IndoDefense 2018 in Jakarta, Thales was displaying its offer for ground radar stations adapted to Indonesia's geography (Picture source: Army Recognition)
Thales is now reinforcing its support to TNI-AU with a memorandum of understanding signed with PT Len in the area of radar development, a key pillar and one of the "seven strategic industries" to be developed in Indonesia as outlined by the Ministry of Defense.
Indonesia's radar strategic project is designed to enhance, expand and strengthen national radar coverage across the country's extensive land and sea territory. Through this MoU, Thales will be providing maintenance to its existing fleet of air defense radars currently in operation with the Air Force, as well as support PT Len in training and transfer-of-technology, to build up local expertise in radar management and maintenance. Thanks to Thales' expertise in high-technology, PT Len will be able to help Indonesian operators make the best decisions when life is at stake.
The MoU further extends Thales and PT Len's years of collaboration in the defense sector, which includes earlier MoUs signed for research and transfer-of-technology in naval combat management systems. Outside of the defense sector, Thales and PT Len are also collaborating on delivering advanced signaling systems for railway projects in Indonesia and the export market, through a separate MoU signed in 2018. "Thales aligns with Indonesia's ambitions to upgrade its military capabilities while building local capabilities in R&D, system maintenance and manufacturing. We are deeply involved in the strategic defense industries in Indonesia, and this MoU enables us to support PT Len, Indonesia's leading defense electronics partner, in their goal of becoming the country's foremost experts in radars and air defense technologies," Erik-Jan Raatgerink, Country Director, Thales in Indonesia.
