Indonesia is reported to be strengthening its military by ordering armed drones from Turkey. This was stated directly by Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday (26/9). He said that Indonesia took great interest in the military equipment.
He explained that several Asian countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, had expressed interest in buying the drone.
“Many Asian countries, especially Malaysia and Indonesia, are showing great interest in our defense industrial products. Agreements are being signed,” Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by Reuters.
“We will gladly fulfill Japan’s need for drones,” the minister added, on a visit there to attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
International demand for Turkish drones has soared after the fallout from conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, and Libya. On September 21, Reuters reported that Baykar sent 20 armed drones to the United Arab Emirates this month.
Previously, Baykar had also sent armed drones to Ukraine. Drones supplied from Turkey to Ukraine have a distinct advantage, in that the Bayraktar drone can travel faster than Iran’s Shahed-129.
The maximum speed of the Bayraktar is around 138 mph, so Turkish drones have longer endurance, meaning they can travel for a longer time. Baykar says its drones are capable of traveling for up to 27 hours, according to the Washington Institute.
The Bayraktar TB2 is even reported to be able to travel slightly higher, reaching a maximum altitude of around 25,000 feet.
Furthermore, the government is currently focusing on strengthening national defense. This can be seen from the allocation of the state budget to upgrade military equipment.
It is known, the realization of capital expenditure until the end of August reached Rp 87.4 trillion. One of the funds is used to upgrade military equipment belonging to the Ministry of Defense.
The Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani, said, “This is to buy equipment and machinery in ministries such as defense and police and for the modernization of military equipment at the Ministry of Defense,”
“Capital spending for buildings and buildings is carried out by the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Trade in the form of airports, flats, and infrastructure as well as educational buildings and official residences for TNI and Polri soldiers, a total of Rp. 10.5 trillion,” he said.
