PURCHASE OF RUSSIAN SUKHOIs PROCEEDS AT SNAIL'S PACE

By Andi Abdussalam

    Jakarta, Sept 21 (ANTARA) - The deal at home on the purchase from Russia of six Sukhoi jet-fighters worth over US$300 million is racing against delivery schedules  as three of the warplanes are expected to arrive in Indonesia next month while the loan  agreement for their purchase have yet to be approved by the House of Representatives (DPR).

         "We hope we can put the new Sukhois into service before October 5, Indonesian Defense Forces Day, so we can fly them on that day," Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Sobandrio said last month.

         However, the loan agreement, which was signed by representatives of the finance ministry and Natixis Bank of France in Jakarta last September 5, has yet to be approved by the DPR.

         The loan agreement has to be approved by the DPR before it could be submitted to Bank Indonesia (BI) which will issue the needed L/C (Letter of Credit).

         "Now we are still waiting for the approval of the DPR because the L/C can be issued only after the House has approved the loan agreement. It takes time, but this is the procedure and mechanism which we have to follow. We just wait," the defense ministry's director general for defense facilities, Rear Marshal Eris Herriyanto, said over the weekend.

         The purchase of the Russian made Sukhois has been planned based on the Air Force's Fleet Development Program for 2005-2009.

         In the 2005 budget year, funds totaling US$310 million had been allocated for the procurement of six Sukhois. The procurement of the six warplanes will be conducted in stages in the  2007-2009 period.

         The Russian Sukhoi producing company on August 21, 2007, announced the sale of six jet fighters to Indonesia worth US$300 million.

         However, the sales value in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on their procurement signed on the occasion of the Moscow aerospace exhibition on August 21, 2007, was set US$355 million.

         Now that the six Sukhois are expected to be delivered in stages in 2008 and 2009, the defense ministry and the National Defense Forces (TNI), as the aircraft's would-be users, are expecting the DPR's green light soon.

         "We hope it will come out soon so that the three Sukhois can support national air defense operations," Herriyanto said.

         Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Subandrio also confirmed the DPR's approval was needed before the Sukhois could be paid for and sent to Indonesia.

         The House needs to give its approval so that the delivery schedules could be met. Three units, with an SU-30MK armament system, are slated to arrive in 2008, hopefully before October 5. Three others, also with SU-27SK armament system, will arrive in 2009.

         In the meantime, the House of Representatives said it had no intention to delay deliberations on the purchase of the warplanes.

         "We will give priorities to the deliberations of the jet-fighter purchase plan," Djoko Susilo of the House's Commission I which deals with defense affairs said on Sunday.

         He said that Commission I already had a lot of agenda, such as the agenda to deliberate the ASEAN charter, before it received the proposal for the approval of the warplane purchase.  
    Commission I has to re-arrange its agenda if it received new items for immediate deliberations. "If we directly discuss newly received letter it would raise public suspicion," he added.

         He said that Commission I would first hold a meeting with the ministry of defense to hear its program. "It should explain to the House its Sukhoi purchase plan program."
    Djoko hoped the House Commission I would have started deliberating the Sukhoi purchase plan next week. "If possible we will finish the deliberations next week."
    On whether or not the jet-fighters could arrive before the Indonesian Defense Forces celebrate its birthday on October 5, the legislator looked doubtful. "It could be but it would not depend on DPR only," he said.

         Currently the air force already has four Sukhois consisting of two SU-27s and two MK-30s. Called Flanker, the jet-fighter is of the Sukhoi Su-27 SK Upgrade type equipped with a couple of Lyulka AL-31F engines with booster strength of 12,550 kg each.

         The superiority of the jet-fighter lies in its Infra Red Search and Track (IRST) equipment in the cockpit capable of detecting a target as far as 70 km, an instrument which is not found in other jet-fighters made in the West.

        The Sukhoi is also able to carry AA-12 Adder airborne missiles which have a cruising range of 50 km, exceeding that of AMRAAM which has a cruising range of 40 km only. It also has the capacity to carry R-73 missiles which are able to hit targets on the side direction at an angle of up to 70 degrees.

        For targets on land, the Sukhoi could be equipped with H-31P missiles with a cruising range of 100 km or with H-31A anti-craft missiles capable of reaching targets as far as 50 km away.

        With a capacity of holding 6,000 kg of fuel, the jet-fighter is able to conduct  petrol flights as far as 1,500 kilometers for four hours from its base.

        All of the arms systems constitute the deadliest air weaponry system known at present, which are reportedly more reliable than Israel's Python or AIM-9L/M Sidewinder often used by  the West. (T.A014/HNG/A/H-YH)   21-09-2008 22:52:42