February 18, 2025 | 06:08 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and his Czech counterpart Jana Cernochova discussed several issues in a meeting at the Ministry of Defense office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. Among them are plans for the procurement of radar and light weapons by Indonesia.
"We discussed matters related to radar and also light weapons procurement, which has been ongoing for several years. This includes the opportunity for cooperation on how we can enhance it," said the ministry’s head of Public Relations Bureau, Frega Wenas, on Tuesday, February 18.
Frega stated that any improvement in defense cooperation between Indonesia and the Czech Republic may continue after the extension of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between both countries. The DCA had expired in 2023.
According to Frega, negotiations between Indonesia and the Czech Republic to continue the DCA have already taken place. However, this also requires agreement at the level of heads of state and government. "We hope it can be resolved soon with mutual interests and understanding that both countries have a need for it (the agreement)," said Frega.
The procurement of radar was agreed upon during Prabowo’s reign at the Ministry of Defense. He purchased 13 GCI radars from French multinational corporation Thales and 12 radars from Retia in the Czech Republic to strengthen Indonesia's air defense. In their usage, the GCI radars will be interoperable with 12 Retia-manufactured radars.
In the procurement of GCI radars, Thales collaborated with PT Len Industri to produce the required products. The contract was signed on April 20, 2022, and delivery will be made within 48 months from the effective date of the contract. Furthermore, the warranty period for these radar systems is 36 months.
CEO of PT Len Industri Bobby Rasyidin explained during a press conference with the board of directors of Defend ID in Jakarta in early July 2024 that the current procurement of Indonesia's GCI radar has entered the manufacturing stage. "It can be said that the progress is at 70-80 percent," said Bobby as quoted by Antara.
Bobby continued by stating that in the production cooperation of GCI radar, PT Len also produces the main radar component called octopath. "We produce the Octopath component domestically. So, the main component of the radar is domestically produced," he said.
Furthermore, the final assembly of the 13 Ground Control Interception (GCI) GM-403 radars ordered by Indonesia from Thales also took place at the facilities owned by PT Len Industri in Len Technopark, Subang, West Java.
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