Indonesia’s military strength turned out to be the best in the ASEAN region. Even, it outperformed Germany and Israel. The position of Indonesia’s military strength can be maintained and even better after the formation of a defense holding company.
It is known, according to Global Firepower (GFP), that currently Indonesia’s military strength is ranked 15th in the world out of 140 countries surveyed in 2022. This position is up 1 rank from 2021. In fact, Indonesia’s military strength index (Power Index/PwrIndx) score of 0.2251 outperformed Germany, Australia, Israel, and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in the ASEAN region, Indonesia has the strongest military among other countries. Vietnam caught up with being ranked 28th in the world with a value of 0.4521. Then, Thailand with a score of 0.4581 which puts the White Elephant country at number 3 in ASEAN and 29 in the world.
Furthermore, Myanmar and Singapore are in the order of the 4th and 5th strongest militaries in ASEAN. In the world, the two are ranked 39 and 42. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s neighboring countries, namely Malaysia and Singapore, are in 6th and 7th place in ASEAN and 42nd and 48th in the world. Cambodia and Laos rank the smallest in the ASEAN region.
Then, what are the details of Indonesia’s military strength?
Based on GFP data, there is 1,080,000 military personnel in the country with 400,000 active personnel, 400,000 reserve personnel, and 280,000 paramilitaries.
Indonesia’s ground forces are equipped with 1,444 armored vehicles, 314 tanks, 413 artillery towers, 153 self-propelled artillery, and 63 rocket launchers. Meanwhile, in the air, the Indonesian military was strengthened by 41 fighter aircraft. 23 special attack aircraft, 17 special mission aircraft, 172 helicopters, and 15 attack helicopters.
Then at sea, Indonesia’s strength assets are 296 units, consisting of 7 frigates, 24 corvettes, 4 submarines, 181 patrol boats, and 11 mine warfare units.
Regarding the heated world situation due to war conflicts in Eastern Europe, the main tool of the state defense system (defense system) must indeed be strengthened both in terms of rejuvenation, maintenance, and new procurement.
At this point, a more coordinated and focused work program is needed among the State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) of defense equipment, which is marked by the establishment of a holding company in the military sector in the country.
Not surprisingly, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) launched a Defense Industry BUMN holding named Defense Industry Indonesia (Defend ID). Its membership consists of five state-owned defense industries, namely PT LEN Industri as the parent, PT Pindad, PT Dirgantara Indonesia, PT PAL Indonesia, and PT Dahana.
The holding company was formed to compete in the defense industry and protect the country’s sovereignty. “So that we are fully prepared to enter a new era of competition and be able to maintain state sovereignty,” said Jokowi, yesterday (20/4/2022).
