National

Jordan Offers Secondhand F-5 Fighter Planes to Indonesia
Friday, 09 December, 2005 | 20:59 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has offered a grant including F-5 fighter planes and several armored vehicles to the Indonesian Air Force and Army.

“The amount and when they are to be handed over is not yet known,” said Indonesian Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono after receiving a visit from the Jordanian Military Chief General Khalid Jamil Sarayreh at his office in Jakarta on Thursday (08/12).

The F-5 fighter planes are being offered to Indonesia because Jordan is currently updating their armaments.
In principle, according to Sudarsono, Indonesia will accept this offer.

“We just need to see in technical means whether or not the proposed specifications suit our needs,” Sudarsono stated.

The Directorate General for Defense Plans and facilities will review these thoroughly.

However first of all, according to Air Marshall Joko Suyanto, the Indonesian Air Force Chief of Staff, in either 2007 or 2008, the TNI Air Force must have researched the replacement of the old F-5 fighter planes.

In response to this, said Sudarsono, the Department of Defense was reviewing the duration of use and the age of Air Force fighter planes.

If during the next five years, these planes can still be used and there are yet to be any replacements, he said, the Jordanian planes could be used to strengthen air defenses.

Sudarsono and Khalid also exchanged their thoughts on contra terrorism with both parties agreeing for the need to be stern in fighting terrorism.

They also agreed that the roots of terrorism are poverty, economic imbalance and corruption.

To fight terrorism, Jordan has offered cooperation between both countries’special forces.
(Fanny Febiana-Tempo News Room)