Cocos Islands Airfield Not Ready for Spy Drones, Says Stephen Smith

28 Maret 2012

Gobal Hawk - high altitude longrange endurance HALE UAV (photo : DefenseIndustryDaily)

THE Cocos Islands' airfield would require a $75 million-$100 million upgrade before the territory could be used as a base for US drones, says Defence Minister Stephen Smith.

Amid heightened Chinese sensitivities over Australian-US military ties, Mr Smith played down the short-term prospects of using the Cocos Islands - a remote group of coral atolls and islands in the Indian Ocean - as a staging point for US spy flights.

Pentagon planners are considering basing Global Hawk drones and manned surveillance aircraft from the Cocos Islands - about 2750km northwest of Perth - to carry out patrols far out over the northern oceans.

Mr Smith said he and his US counterparts had agreed a “substantial infrastructure upgrade” was required before the Cocos Islands could be considered for use as a joint US-Australian base.

Cocos Island - small island in Hindian Ocean (image : GoogleMaps)

“My memory of the costing of that was somewhere between $75-$100 million. No-one is proposing that occur in the first instance or in the near future,” he said.

Mr Smith said the priorities for the deepened Australian-US military relationship were the deployment of US Marines in Darwin and the bedding down of arrangements for US use of Australian air and naval bases.

HMAS Stirling, in Perth, is reportedly being eyed by the US for use by aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines.

An initial 250 marines will arrive in Darwin in coming days - the first of 2500 to eventually be deployed in the Northern Territory.

Mr Smith said rotational arrangements for the force were being finalised between Australian and US officials.

The Greens said the Cocos Islands must not be used as a base for US drones.

“Surveillance may sound innocent enough to some, but the role of this base will be to make it even easier for the US military to strike and kill at will,” Greens defence spokesman Scott Ludlum said.

“If the past 40 years has taught us anything, it's that we must be wary of being complicit in these misadventures.

He said US attack drones had caused large numbers of civilian deaths.

“Are their spy drones any more reliable in identifying targets?”

(The Australian)

Biak Disiapkan Sebagai Skadron Pesawat Tempur

16 Februari 2012

Skadron tempur Biak diharapkan tahun 2014 dapat terbentuk (photo : gijoe77)

Biak (ANTARA News) - Pangkalan Udara Manuhua STAB di Kabupaten Biak Numfor, Papua dipersiapkan untuk skadron pesawat tempur dalam rangka menunjang tugas operasional Komando Sektor Pertahanan Udara Nasional IV di kawasan Timur Indonesia.

Panglima Komando Sektor Pertahanan Udara Nasional IV Biak Marsekal Pertama TNI Dedy Nita Komara di Biak Kamis mengatakan, untuk pengembangan pengamanan wilayah udara NKRI di kawasan Papua, keberadaan pangkalan udara Manuhua Biak masuk dalam rencana pengembangan sebagai pangkalan skadron pesawat tempur TNI AU.

"Keberadaan bandara Lanud Manuhua Biak sangat strategis dan memenuhi syarat bisa dikembangkan menjadi pangkalan skadron pesawat tempur, ya pada tahun 2014 diharapkan program ini dapat terwujud," ungkap Pangkosek Hanudnas IV Marsma TNI Dedy.

Ia mengakui, untuk idealnya pengembangan pangkalan skadron pesawat tempur di Lanud Manuhua empat flight dengan 12 pesawat tempur.

Dengan kondisi pangkalan udara Manuhua Biak saat ini, lanjut Marsma Dedy, yang sangat luas dan memenuhi syarat paling tidak dapat menampung delapan pesawat tempur TNI AU.

"Jika rencana skadron pesawat tempur TNI AU dibuka di Biak maka akan menunjang operasi Komando Sektor Pertahanan Udara Nasional IV Biak menjaga pengamanan wilayah udara NKRI khususnya di wilayah Papua sekitarnya," ungkap Pangkosek Hanudnas IV Marsma TNI Dedy Nita Komara.

Hingga Kamis siang, tiga pesawat tempur F16 skadron Iswahyudi Madiun, dua Hercules, serta satu helikopter Puma berada di bandara Lanud Manuhua Biak untuk mendukung latihan cakra dan operasi "Tangkis Petir" yang diselenggarakan Kosek Hanudnas IV Biak mulai 16-21 Februari 2012.(M039)

(Antara)

Skadron Udara 16 Dibangun di Lanud Pekanbaru

09 Februari 2012

Pekanbaru, Sumatera (image : GoogleMaps)

Kepala Dinas Pengembangan Operasi TNI AU (Kadisbangopsau), Marsekal Pertama TNI R. Hari Muljono beserta tim survei Mabesau diterima Komandan Lanud Pekanbaru, Kolonel Pnb Bowo Budiarto, S.E beserta para Pejabat dan Komandan Satuan di jajaran Lanud Pekanbaru dalam rangka meninjau lokasi rencana pembangunan Skadron Udara 16 di Lanud Pekanbaru, Rabu (9/2).

Pangkalan TNI AU Pekanbaru yang saat ini hanya terdiri satu Skadron yaitu Skadron Udara 12 yang mengawaki jenis pesawat tempur Hawk 100/200 Skadron Tehnik, kedepan akan di tambah menjadi dua Skadron, yaitu Skadron Udara 16 yang di rencanakan akan mengawaki jenis pesawat tempur F-16 Fighting Falcon dari America Serikat, sehingga dengan adanya dua Skadron tersebut, Lanud Pekanbaru akan ada peningkatan, yang semula tipe B akan menjadi tipe A.

Kedatangan tim survei yang berlangsung selama tiga hari, selain mengunjungi lokasi rencana pembangunan Skadron Udara 16 di Lanud Pekanbaru, juga mengunjungi lapangan tembak, Komplek Rajawali baru, Mes Garuda yang rencana akan ditempati untuk mes remaja, Gedung ACMR dan BMP Lanud Pekanbaru.

(TNI AU)

Smith Forecasts Cocos Islands Joint Military Base

21 November 2011

Cocos Island (image : GoogleMaps)

THE upgrading of defence ties with the US may include the development of joint military facilities on Cocos Islands.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said yesterday the first priority would be upgrading the HMAS Stirling naval base, near Perth. "In the future, there may well be some possibility or prospect of greater utilisation of Cocos Islands," he said.

Mr Smith told the Ten Network there would have to be a major upgrade of the infrastructure on Cocos Islands, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, before they were fit for joint use by the Australian and US forces.

His comments confirm that the steps announced last week, starting with 250 additional US troops visiting Darwin, mark the start of what is likely to be a much wider collaboration. Mr Smith has played down suggestions of China's displeasure with the new military arrangement between Australia and the US, saying the official response has been measured and appropriate.

But a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Liu Weimin, said the move might not be in the interests of countries in the region and questioned the expansion of military ties while global economics were still shaky.

An editorial in China's state-run People's Daily newspaper went further, saying if Australia used its military bases to help the US hurt Chinese interests, "one thing is certain . . . Australia will be caught in the crossfire".

Mr Smith said the media commentary should be divorced from China's official response.

"And the official response has quite frankly been a measured one. It hasn't been over the top."

He said China was against military alliances, but understood Australia's ties with the US.

(The Australian)

Up to 2,500 Marines Could be Based in Australia

17 November 2011

Darwin, Noth Australia (image : GoogleMaps)

CANBERRA, Australia — U.S. military presence in Australia is expanding, with plans underway to deploy about 250 Marines starting next year and lay the groundwork for up to 2,500 over the next several years.

The Air Force and Navy are expected to expand there presence in the region as well.

The agreement was announced Wednesday at a joint news conference with President Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. It is widely viewed as a response to China's growing aggressiveness, although the president insisted that the U.S. does not fear Beijing.

China responded swiftly, warning that an expanded U.S. military footprint in Australia may not be appropriate and deserved greater scrutiny.

Obama called the plan "significant," and said it would build capacity and cooperation between the U.S. and Australia. U.S. officials were careful to emphasize that the pact was not an attempt to create a permanent American military presence in Australia.

The Marines will reportedly be organized as a special purpose Marine air-ground task force and be based at Robertson Barracks in Darwin, an Australian military installation on the country’s northern coast. The buildup to 2,500 personnel, expected to be complete within six years, will require an expansion of the base, but no new installations, according to reports. Its not immediately clear what sort of equipment the Marine Corps will send to Australia, but reports suggest the deployments may last only six months out of the year.

In addition to the Marines, more U.S. aircraft will rotate through Australia as part of an agreement between each nation's air force.

Australian media is reporting that plans call for B-52 bombers, F/A-18 attack aircraft, C-17 transports and aerial refueling tankers to operate out of the Australian air force facility at Tindal, near the town of Katherine. That's about 200 miles southeast of Darwin.

Also, more U.S. ships will transit through the Sterling naval base, south of Perth in western Australia, according to Australian media.

Obama and Gillard said the increased air presence would allow the U.S. and Australia to more effectively respond to respond to natural disasters and humanitarian crises in the region.

During his news conference, the president sidestepped questions about whether the security agreement was aimed at containing China. But he said the U.S. would keep sending a clear message that China needs to accept the responsibilities that come with being a world power.

"It's important for them to play by the rules of the road," he said.

And he insisted that the U.S is not fearful of China's rise.

"I think the notion that we fear China is mistaken. The notion that we're looking to exclude China is mistaken," he said.

China was immediately leery of the prospect of an expanded U.S. military presence in Australia.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said Wednesday that it was worth discussing whether the plan was in line with the common interests of the international community.

Obama national security aide Ben Rhodes said the agreement was not only appropriate, but also a response to the demand from nations in the region that have signaled they want the U.S. to be present.

The U.S. and smaller Asian nations have grown increasingly concerned about China claiming dominion over vast areas of the Pacific that the U.S. considers international waters, and reigniting old territorial disputes, including confrontations over the South China Sea. China's defense spending has increased threefold since the 1990s to about $160 billion last year, and its military has recently tested a new stealth jet fighter and launched its first aircraft carrier.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said that the goal of the new security pact is to signal that the U.S. and Australia will stick together in face of any threats.

Rhodes said the U.S. military boost would amount to a "sustained U.S. presence." He distinguished that from a permanent presence in the sense that the U.S. forces will use Australian facilities, as opposed to the United States to building its own bases, as it has in such regional places as South Korea. The U.S. has not signaled any interest in that in Australia.

The only American base currently in Australia is the secretive joint Australia-U.S. intelligence and communications complex at Pine Gap in central Australia. But there are hundreds of U.S. service personnel in Australia on exchange.

Air combat units also use the expansive live bombing ranges in Australia's sparsely populated north in training rotations of a few months and occasionally naval units train off the coast. But training exercises involving ground forces are unusual.

(MarineCorpsTimes)

Kemhan akan Membangun Skuadron Udara di Kaltim

20 September 2011

Pesawat F-16 TNI AU (photo : Aus DoD)

KEMENTERIAN Pertahanan mencanangkan untuk membangun sedikitnya tiga skuadron udara baru menyusul akan ada penambahan pesawat tempur dalam jumlah besar.

Salah satu daerah yang diproyeksikan adalah di wilayah Kalimantan Timur. Saat ini Kemhan telah menjalin kerja sama dengan Pemerintah Provinsi Kalimantan Timur untuk mendukung program tersebut serta sejumlah perencanaan lain menyangkut penguatan pertahanan di perbatasan. Nota kerja sama ditandatangani antara Sekjen Kemhan Marsekal Madya (Marsdya) TNI Erris Heryanto dan Gubernur Kalimantan Timur Awang Faroek Ishak di Kantor Kemhan, Jakarta, kemarin. Menteri Pertahanan Purnomo Yusgiantoro mengatakan, besar kemungkinan akan dibangun satu skuadron udara di wilayah Kalimantan Timur. Saat ini Indonesia telah memiliki skuadron Hawk di Pekan Baru dan Kalimantan Barat, Sukhoi di Makassar,dan F-16 di Madiun.“Kita akan punya baby F-16 yaitu T-50 Golden Eagle dari Korea Selatan, kemudian Super Tucano untuk counter insurgency.

Ini akan kita tata karena memang salah satu flash point yang kita waspadai adalah daerah perbatasan,” ungkapnya seusai penandatanganan nota kerja sama kemarin. Meskipun akan fokus di daerah perbatasan, skuadron itu tidak akan berada pada jarak yang terlalu dekat dengan negara lain.“Kalau terlalu dekat juga tidak baik.Tapi,kita bisa menjangkau dengan cepat.

Seperti tadi di lapangan terbang yang terletak di tengah antara Kalimantan Barat dengan Kalimantan Timur yang setiap saat bisa dipakai tidak hanya pesawat tempur, tapi juga pesawat transportasi untuk pembangunan infrastruktur,” urainya. Purnomo mengaku telah memperhitungkan berapa jumlah skuadron udara yang akan dibangun dan di mana saja lokasinya. Namun, mantan Menteri ESDM ini enggan untuk menerangkan secara lebih detail.“Tidak pas untuk disebutkan di sini.

Cukup banyak, lebih dari tiga skuadron,” kata dia. Gubernur Awang Faroek mengungkapkan, pihaknya siap dan merasa wajib untuk membantu penguatan pertahanan di Kalimantan Timur karena wilayah ini berbatasan langsung dengan negara lain, Malaysia. Ada tiga kabupaten dengan total 15 kecamatan di provinsi tersebut yang berbatasan dengan luar negeri.

“Panjang perbatasan 1.038 kilo meter. Sudah menjadi tekad kita bersama daerah perbatasan itu menjadi beranda NKRI.Namanya beranda, harus dibuat bagus,” katanya. Awang menyebut ada tiga landasan yang dibenahi agar bisa digunakan untuk mendaratkan pesawat dengan ukuran besar seperti Hercules milik TNI. Landasan itu juga diharapkan bisa mencapai panjang 2.500-3.000 meter agar dapat dijadikan landasan bagi pesawat tempur TNI Angkatan Udara.

“Dana untuk tiga landasan itu lebih dari Rp40 miliar di Kerayan, Rp8 miliar di Long Nawan, dan nilai serupa di Datah Dawai,”ungkap dia. Selain untuk mendukung pesawat-pesawat milik TNI Angkatan Udara, landasan itu juga diharapkan dapat mendorong laju pertumbuhan ekonomi wilayah setempat. Selama ini minimnya infrastruktur membuat harga-harga di sana melambung tinggi dan banyak komoditi yang akhirnya dijual ke Malaysia karena akses ke negeri jiran itu lebih baik.

“Jadi, arus barang dan jasa bisa semakin baik. Proses sudah dimulai tahun ini kita sudah anggarkan melalui APBD dan usulkan ada TMMD (tentara manunggal membangun desa) berskala besar,”paparnya. Selain landasan, Pemprov Kalimantan Timur juga akan membeli sejumlah helikopter yang akan dihibahkan bagi TNI.

"Untuk helikopter saja dananya Rp120 miliar. Jenis helikopter yang dibeli kita sesuaikan dengan standar kepentingan TNI.Tim sudah memilih Heli Bell-412 sesuai standar TNI.Kebetulan TNI juga pesan helikopter sejenis,”urai Awang.

(Seputar Indonesia)

Plans to Improve Air Base in Palawan Underway

30 Agustus 2011



Nomad of the PAF (photo : Reuters)

ISABELA CITY, Basilan — As part of the development program being pushed to improve the capabilities of the Armed Forces’ services in the province of Palawan, the planning team from the 570th Composite Tactical Wing (CTW) sat down with its counterpart from the Western Command (WESCOM) and the Naval Forces West (NFW) to map out the development of the air base in Palawan.

In a press release, the 6th Civil Relations Group of the Armed Forces of the Philippines reveals that a two-day conference was held last August 18 and 19 to formulate the Master Development Plan of Antonio Bautista Air Base (ABAB).

ABAB is one of the nine air bases eyed for the priority development programs of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

Maximizing the use of its land resources is the primary objective of coming up with a Master Development Plan for ABAB. The lay-outs of the land areas of both WESCOM and NFW were integrated inconceptualizing the plan since the two are adjacent to ABAB.

As the three military headquarters share some common needs, the planners aim to come up with a strategic design that would serve as a basis for deciding where to put up a facility, like a hospital for instance, that is most convenient and accessible to all.

Equally important is that conceptualizing the Master Development Plan would allow the planners todecide what project is most suited to a certain land area so as to maximize its utilization.

Experts have been consulted in formulating the conceptual plan for ABAB. For instance, with the help of an environmentalist, the effect of a certain project on the natural environment has been assessed and taken into consideration.

Should the National Headquarters approve the plan and the National Government provide the fund for its implementation right after, it would not only translate to an improved headquarters’ lay-out, but it would also mean better services for the people.

(Zamboanga Times)