TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Air Force or TNI AU plans to strengthen air defenses. One way is through a plan to replace old radars that are still in operation.

The Air Force's Chief of Staff Fadjar Prasetyo said that the Air Force and the government had started to carry out these discussions. The discussions on the procurement of a new radar were still being carried out at the Ministry of Defence.

"For now, the plan is to replace them with newer radars. This is being processed at the Ministry of Defense," he said during an official visit to East Nusa Tenggara on Sunday, March 19.

Fadjar said that the update would be implemented at a number of Radar Unit (Satrad) headquarters in Indonesia. One of them is the Satrad 226 Buraen headquarters, East Nusa Tenggara.

"For the other equipment, they are still in prime condition. We will just replace the defense equipment later," he said.

The radar technology used in the Satrad 226 Buraen is the Thomson TRS 2215 R Radar made by Thomson France in 1980. Meanwhile, Satrad 226 Buraen began operating the Thomson TRS 2215 R Radar in 1982.

The Thomson TRS 2215 R radar is an early warning (EW) radar as well as a ground control intercept (GCI) radar that can map the location of fighter aircraft by directing them directly to the target. As a mobile radar, it can operate intermittently if needed, thanks to the cogs under its body.

Fadjar said that the Buraen 226 Satrad headquarters is located in a strategic position, thus it could be both a potential as well as a threat to Indonesia's air defense. "We will continue to secure and monitor airspace, especially in the southern region of Indonesia, which is directly adjacent to neighboring countries," he said.

MIRZA BAGASKARA

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