인도네시아 공군의 중고 F-16C/D Block 25 도입 소식

 

DSCA FMS Notification.pdf

 

11월 17일 美 국방성 산하 국방안보협력국 (DSCA, Defense Security Cooperation Agency) 이 FMS (Foreign Military Sales)

방식으로 중고 F-16C/D Block 25 전투기 24대에 대한 對인도네시아 수출 허가를 美 의회에 요청했다는 소식 입니다.

 

이번에 DSCA 가 총액 7억5천만불에 이르는 수출 허가를 요청한 24대의 중고 F-16C/D Block 25 Fighting Falcon 전투기들은

기체 수명년장 포함 Block 52 로 성능개량을 한 후, 2014년부터 초도기가 인도되는 조건 입니다.

 

DSCA 의 발표문은 위 첨부파일을 참조하면 되며, AW&ST 에서 인도네시아의 중고 F-16C/D 도입과 관련하여 상세하게 보도한

11월 7일字 기사를 아래 참조용으로 소개 합니다.

 

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Indonesian Intrigue

Negotiating the contract to upgrade Indonesia’s F-16s takes twists and turns

Aviation Week & Space Technology, 11/07/2011

Author : Leithen Francis

 

Indonesia is moving toward signing a contract to upgrade Lockheed Martin F-16s to the Block 52 standard after the country’s populist president weighed in on the debate about the country’s defense procurement processes.

 

Some Indonesian air force officers wanted the F-16 upgrade deal to be a commercial, brokered transaction; others desired a government-to-government agreement in the form of a foreign military sale (FMS), which would eliminate the need for brokers, who can earn a commission of up to 10% on military deals. This F-16 upgrade is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

The broker involved in this instance is Milany Terianto Luwena, whose company, PT Multijaya Sparindo, represents several defense firms. A cable from the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, dated May 2007 and released by Wikileaks, says the company is mostly in the business of supplying engines and spare parts to the Indonesian air force and that it is the “local representative for U.S. aircraft parts supplier ILN Technologies Inc. and Kellstrom Industries.” The embassy also says Sparindo works for Fokker. The Indonesian air force operates Fokker F27s.

 

In this competition, Sparindo was acting on behalf of Gauss Management Research and Engineering (GMRE), a small U.S. company based in South Ogden, Utah, that has done aircraft upgrade work for the U.S. Air National Guard.

 

Sparindo and GMRE were proposing to upgrade the F-16s to the Block 32 standard, arguing it would be cheaper. The FMS camp, meanwhile, was arguing the aircraft should be upgraded to the Block 52 standard and that Lockheed Martin should do the work.

 

Ordinarily, the original equipment maker (OEM) would be the front-runner in such a competition. But in the context of Indonesia, is not always the case, as the Indonesian defense establishment has had difficulties with foreign OEMs. For example, the current defense minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, told Aviation Week last December that he had to lobby very hard to get BAE Systems to provide a satisfactory level of spare parts and product support for the air force’s Hawk jet trainers. Also, when the U.S. imposed its six-year arms embargo on Indonesia, starting in 1999, the Indonesians were prevented from doing business with U.S. OEMs.

 

In terms of the F-16 upgrade, Sparindo/GMRE appeared at least several months ago to be the first choice. Yusgiantoro told Aviation Week in June, on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue, an Asian defense conference held in Singapore, that budget constraints might mean the country would have to pass on the Block 52 upgrade and instead go with a Block 32 upgrade.

 

But the competition took a turn when Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono publicly warned his ministers on Sept. 8: “I don’t want to hear about anything going amiss with the procurement processes. Every rupiah has to be accounted for. We need to ensure that the procurement of weaponry — worth trillions of rupiah — is really a necessity.” Yudhoyono made the remarks after announcing that the government would speed up the procurement of military equipment to ensure all major defense deals are completed before the 2014 presidential elections. The government wants first deliveries of the upgraded F-16s in 2014.

 

Since Yudhoyono issued his warning, Yusgiantoro has come out publicly in support of the Block 52 upgrade. Also, on Oct. 25, the Indonesian House of Representatives’ Commission on Defense and Foreign Affairs approved the acquisition of F-16s and the upgrade of 24 of them to the Block 52 standard. Yusgiantoro says having this approval means the defense ministry is now free to negotiate the terms of the deal.

 

Indonesia is rewriting the letter of request, the document that needs to be issued to begin the FMS process. After that, the letter of agreement must be signed.

 

The U.S. has agreed to give Indonesia 30 F-16s. Six will be used for spare parts, leaving the remaining 24 to be upgraded to the Block 52 standard. The 24 include five two-seat F-16Ds and 19 single-seat F-16Cs; these Block 25 aircraft are in fact some of the earliest C/Ds ever produced. In terms of the six spare aircraft, four are Block 25s and two are F-16A/B Block 15s. The two Block 15 aircraft will be particularly useful as spares because Indonesia’s air force operates 10 F-16A/B Block 15 aircraft. The air force also wants to upgrade these 10 aircraft, but there are funds only to upgrade the 24 F-16C/Ds coming from the U.S.

 

Those two dozen Block 25 fighters have about 2,000 hr. of airframe life left. Lockheed Martin’s Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP) Block 52 upgrade will include a Falcon STAR (Structural Augmentation Roadmap), a program involving repair and replacement of some airframe components to ensure the aircraft reaches the 8,000 hr. of service life it is designed to achieve.

 

The CCIP targets commonality among Block 50/52s in the global fleet. It includes an upgraded mission computer and expansion of the variety of weapons integrated onto the aircraft. Some air forces, such as Taiwan’s, are modernizing their F-16s with targeting pods. The Indonesian air force has no budget for those now but hopes to receive funds for them eventually, which could create an opportunity for either the Lockheed Martin Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod or the Northrop Grumman Litening Precision Targeting System.

 

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

  ⓒ Australian Gov. DoD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DSCA FMS Notification.pdf

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