WAYKANAN, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia will have at least 500 rockets in the next four years for the country’s defense, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said.
"God willing, by 2014, at least 500 R-Han 122 rockets will be part of our defense arsenal as a result of the work of the country’s sons over the past six years," he said here on Saturday.
He said R-Han 122 rockets have a function of a land-to-land weapon with an optimum explosive power with a shooting range of between 11 and 14 kilometers and so they could be used as part of the country’s defense arsenal which has so far been dependant on foreign supply.
"So far we buy weapons from the US but because we have now had our own rockets, which have so far only been used for scientific or civilian purposes such as remote sensing, atmosphere researches and weather satellite launching, we hope we could use them maximally moreover they have now been part of the domestic industry," he said.
He said R-Han 122 rockets are the results of the work of the country’s sons for the past six years.
"These are the results of work for the past six years covering three years of researches done by LAPAN, Pindad, PT Dirgantara Indonesia, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Research and Technology and three other years of collaboration," he said.
The policy of defense means development, he said, is an integrated part of the defense power development which has been formulated based upon consideration of the country’s geographical and demographic conditions, man-made natural resources and state budget.
"Indonesia as a vast archipelagic country needs a better defense system to safeguard its territory," he said.
He said the needs for defense equipment to face challenges in the current globalization era are increasing and more complicated and therefore supporting weapons system equipment need to be improved.
"The supporting weapons system equipment include prototype warheads, impact fuzes on 122mm calibre rockets which need to be integrated with the weapons system," he said.
Regarding possible sale of R-Han 122 Purnomo said that the possibility for it was strong after being tested well like the Anoa that has been purchased by Malaysia.
"We can sell Anoa to Malaysia because we have used it in Lebanon and have been tested well and approved by the UN," he said.
