The Nomad aircraft, purchased from the Australian Army, were formally turned over to the armed forces by Indonesian Minister of Defence and Security General (retired) Edy Sudradjat, then from Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief General Feisal Tanjung to the navy.
The 8 August ceremony took place at Juanda Navy Base, Surabaya, where many of the Nomads will be based. The turnover ceremony also included 16 shipping containers of spare parts included in the purchase.
The Indonesian Navy has flown Nomads since 1975, and had 16 active Nomads in the fleet prior to these latest acquisitions.
N-22 Nomad (photo : Airliners) The new acquisitions, 14 N-22 and six N-24 model, represent the largest-ever aircraft acquisition for the navy. The Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Arief Kushariadi, himself a pilot, flew one of the Nomads from Bali to Surabaya, the last leg of the flight from Australia.
N-24 Nomad (photo : Indoflyer)
Although the Nomad has been around for a long time, Indonesia finds the aircraft ideal for maritime patrol and surveillance missions. Its range of over 1,000 km makes it ideal to cover Indonesia's vast territorial waters, which stretch more than 4,800 km from east to west. Surabaya is located about mid-way in Indonesia's east-west spread.
General Sudradjat spoke of the need to increase protection of Indonesia's territorial waters and the rich maritime resources they contain. Referring to the many international sea lanes passing through Indonesia, he said, ''Guaranteed stability and security at sea is vital to the free market era of the 21st century, which has actually already begun.
Sumber : Jane’s
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar