Info!! Air Force Proposes New Base In Batam

✈️ Tentara Nasional Indonesia AU Fighter [TNI AU]

For the Indonesian Military (TNI), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s order to boost presence in border areas for the sake of national sovereignty is no joke.

Late last year, a plan was made to set up a major joint military base in Natuna waters in the province of Riau Islands, initial development of which has begun. Most recently, it was revealed that the Indonesian Air Force has proposed to set up a new Air Force base at Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, also in Riau Islands.

While Natuna is Indonesia’s outermost region facing the South China Sea, where territorial disputes between countries in the region have been ongoing for years, Batam is the nearest point to Singapore, only 20 kilometers off the city state’s southern coast.

If realized, the Batam base would be the third Air Force base in the province after the Raja Haji Fisabilillah base in Tanjung Pinang and the Raden Sadjad base in Natuna.

Hang Nadim management claimed it had received a usulan from the Air Force for a 2-hectare plot in the airport’s complex for the development of a jet fighter home base, which would include an apron and a hangar capable of accommodating four F-16 jet fighters.

“The Air Force, via its base in Tanjung Pinang, sent the usulan in March. We have not yet responded to it, as we will first set up a special team,” Hang Nadim’s general operations manager, Suwarso, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

“The reason to develop [a base] in Hang Nadim is for the sake of sovereignty of the state and to support access of jet fighters to Natuna, particularly because of Batam’s strategic position,” he added.

The Jakarta Post  

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