TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) is currently developing a home-grown medium altitude long endurance (MALE) drone program that will be used as a defense system.
“We have always been dependent on foreign sources. We still lack independence in air surveillance. We have great human resources, it would be a shame not to utilize them,” said Widodo Pandoe, Deputy Chairman for industrial technology design and engineering at the BPPT.
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Wahyu revealed that the drone program will function as an air intelligence surveillance reconnaissance (ISR), which will greatly assist the Indonesian Air Force in securing the country’s borders.
He revealed that Indonesia’s domestic human resources has mastered the knowledge regarding drones, and is essential to integrate the people with skills that are currently still spread throughout multiple universities, government ministries, and agencies.
BPPT revealed that the MALE drone project has actually been developed since 2015, and entered its preliminary design phase by the year 2016. BPPT hopes that the MALE drone will soon enter the certification phase by 2020-2022 so that it can be immediately used and mass produced.
BIANCA ADRIENNAWATI | AMRI MAHBUB
