Without a doubt, it can be said that the Seventh Indonesian Tri-Armed Forces Exhibition and Forum was very successful. Every two years, the organization of the exhibition falls on the shoulders of the exhibition company Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran, which once again successfully held it in the capital of Indonesia on November 2-5, 2016. About 844 companies from 55 countries took part in the Indo Defense exhibition, which were located in 30 pavilions, including the pavilions of Germany, India, Italy, Australia, South Korea, France, Turkey, USA, Great Britain, Russia, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Belarus, Indonesia, Ukraine and Slovakia. According to the organizers, the number of exhibitors has increased by 25 percent compared to the previous exhibition.
The growing number of exhibitors on the Indo Defense 2016 list is a real testament to the growing defense spending in the region, where the annual compound growth rate is 4.7 percent, which is expected to be more than $ 20 billion, which will be spent by the military and law enforcement agencies from 2017 to 2025. year. This makes Indonesia the fifth fastest growing budget in the world, according to research group IHS Markit.
At the Indo Defense exhibition, general interest was aroused by an absentee dispute in the category of "medium tank" between the German BMP Marder 1 from Rheinmetall and the new project of the modern medium tank Modern Medium Tank (MMWT), developed for the Indonesian army by a joint venture of the Turkish company FNSS and the Indonesian PT Pindad. The Marder 1 infantry fighting vehicle was produced for the German army in 1971-1975; the company has already sold the surplus of the upgraded Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles to Chile and Indonesia, and its newest version of the 1A5 BMP will remain in service for several years. Two MMWT prototypes have been manufactured to date, but no final decision has been made in Jakarta as to which model will win the competition at the end of the evaluation phase.
The MMWT medium tank is equipped with a two-man turret from the Belgian CMI Defense, armed with a 105-mm rifled cannon, the shells for which are fed by an automatic loader installed in the aft recess of the turret, and a 7.62-mm machine gun paired with it. The MMWT's mission is not to capture heavily armed and well-protected main battle tanks, but to fight lighter vehicles such as reconnaissance platforms, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and combat support vehicles.
France had its own pavilion at Indo Defense, where the companies were united under the banner of the defense group GICAT and the exhibition organization COGES. A number of French companies such as ECA offered their latest mine detection drones, and the Verney Carron offered their non-lethal weapons such as the FlashBall and Flash Compact or LG56 grenade launchers. Ouvry unveiled its latest protective coveralls and the Bollé family of impact goggles. The large defense company Defense Conseil Internationale also exhibited in the French pavilion.
The light towed howitzer Nexter 105 LG1 has become one of the French stars in Jakarta. Deployed by a light vehicle by helicopter or even by parachute, the LG1 cannon is the lightest 105mm assault artillery gun in the world, ideal for providing fire support to rapid reaction forces. The 105 LG1 cannon is currently in service with the ground forces of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Belgium, Canada and Colombia.
Indonesia has already taken delivery of 20 105mm LG1 light cannons and Nexter Systems is hoping for a second contract for additional systems in the near future.
Nexter took the opportunity to showcase a model of its CAESAR 52-caliber 155mm self-propelled howitzer. She is already in service with the armed forces of France, was baptized by fire in Mali and Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon, she is also in service today in Thailand, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
The Indonesian army's program to upgrade its traditional artillery capabilities provides for the acquisition of new guns with greater range and accuracy. They should be deployed in two regiments of 18 systems each plus one for combat training.
Also on display was the FINDART fire control system from Nexter, its family of artillery ammunition, and the NERVA family of mini-robots for surveillance and reconnaissance from Nexter Robotics. Lightweight and easy to deploy, the Nerva mini-robot is a robust, waterproof and shockproof remote control system. Its flexible platform can easily accommodate about 2 specialized modules to perform a large number of tasks.
While Dassault Aviation modestly attended the show with its Rafale on display at the Thales booth, the latter company presented many interesting weapon systems. These are, for example, night vision cameras Monie and Lucie (operating in the range of 3.5 microns), ground tactical radio stations, both hand-held and transportable, the new TALTICOS battle control system, which is already in service with the Indonesian fleet. A new variant of the STARStreak rocket was shown with an improved ELMM laser proximity fuse. Thales' Amascos system, currently installed on the Indonesian military's lightweight CN235 MPA turboprop military transport aircraft, combines a powerful tactical command subsystem with the latest sensor kits to ensure successful reconnaissance missions and maritime patrols. The system now has the distinct advantage of new lightweight work panels that are particularly suited to operations with the latest Searchmaster multifunctional radar.
Airbus presented models of A400M and C295 transport aircraft and H225M helicopter at the exhibition; for all of them, the company hopes to find more customers in Asia. Malaysia already has the A400M strategic military transport aircraft in service, and Thailand has become one of the last customers of the H225M Caracal helicopter. This show featured another aircraft from Airbus, this time in the Indonesian pavilion. Production of the Airbus Military C212 light military transport aircraft was relocated to Indonesia in mid-2013, after the company merged with PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) in 2011. The last C212, assembled in Spain, was delivered by the Vietnamese Maritime Police at the end of 2013. In 42 years, a total of 477 C-212 aircraft were manufactured for 92 operators. According to the manufacturer, they were used in "a variety of tasks ranging from cargo transportation to artificial rainfall, surveillance and search and rescue." Today, fewer than 300 C-212 aircraft fly in 40 countries; the largest (70 aircraft) in Indonesia, where the predecessors of the PTDI (IPTN and AI) have been assembling the aircraft under license since the 70s and 80s. This Indonesian state-owned company regularly supplied subassemblies for the CN-235 to Airbus Military. Today it manufactures further upgrades of the previous C-212-400 model, the NC-212 variant with a glass cockpit and more powerful Honeywell TPE331 engines. The NC-212 is one of the very few modern light cargo aircraft capable of competing with Chinese and Russian systems.
French naval shipbuilding company DCNS has unveiled the Scorpene, a submarine designed for the full range of missions of modern multipurpose submarines and fully adapted to operate in the harsh conditions of Indonesian waters, both on the high seas and in shallow waters. Also presented was a model of the new generation Gowind 2500 multipurpose corvette, a reliable and well-equipped ship in terms of electronics and weapons with excellent anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
The Czech company Ceska Zbrojovska was also represented at Indo Defense. The long-established small arms manufacturer has introduced the latest version of its famous CZ Bren assault rifle to the South Asian market. Retaining the best features of its predecessor, the CZ 805 Bren, the new Bren 2 has been designed to meet the highest demands of special forces and military forces operating around the world. A 5.56x45 mm NATO rifle designed for operators who need a lightweight, flexible and absolutely reliable weapon in extreme situations.
The Bren 2 also features a double-sided fuse-translator of firing modes, which has 4 positions corresponding to the fuse, single, bursts with a cutoff of 2 shots and continuous bursts. The cocking handle can be moved to the left side for ease of use by left-handers. The rate of fire is approximately 760 rounds per minute. The service life of the barrel before replacement is 20,000 rounds.
Ruag presented a range of interesting small bore, standard and special ammunition with high performance for hunting, sports and law enforcement, as well as pyrotechnic elements and chemicals for industrial applications.
It also displayed the Dornier 228 Multirole (MR) aircraft model, which offers unrivaled performance and operational flexibility.
