The Indonesian Air Force was founded on 9 April 1946. Initially it operated captured Japanese aircraft, then was presented with a number of aircraft by the departing Dutch colonial government. In the 1960s it turned to the Soviet Union for equipment, becoming the most powerful air force in South East Asia. Following the 30 September Movement coup attempt of 1965, it declined in strength and began to receive western aircraft. In 1999 both the United States and European Union imposed arms embargoes due to claims of human rights violations in East Timor. Although the United States have lifted its embargo in 2005, the European Union still remains strong on its decision to ban arm sales to Indonesia.
| Aircraft | Origin | Version | Original Numbers | Service years | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighter Aircraft | |||||||
| CAC-27 Sabre | Sabre Mk 32 | 23 | 1973–1982 | Donated by the RAAF from 1973–1975 | |||
| Curtiss P-36 Mohawk | United States | Hawk 75a-7 | 24 | 1945-?? | † | ||
| Curtiss P-40E Warhawk | United States | P-40E Warhawk | - | 1945-?? | †
Stored for decades in Kalijati Air Base | ||
| de Havilland Vampire | T:11 | 30 | 1945–1966 | One example on display at the Museum Dirgantara Udara | |||
| F-16 Fighting Falcon | United States | F-16A
F-16B |
8
4 |
1989–Present | 10 remain of 12 delivered+ 24 on order | ||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 | Mig-15UTI | 20 | 1961–1970 | One example on display at the Museum Dirgantara Udara, another on the road from Surabaya's airport | |||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 | Mig-17F
Mig-17PF |
66 | 1961–1970 | One example on display at the Museum Dirgantara Udara | |||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 | Mig-19S | 20 | 1961–1970 | One example on display at the Museum Dirgantara Udara | |||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 | MiG-21F-13
MiG-21U |
24
2 |
1961–1970 | One example on display at the Museum Dirgantara Udara, another at the Satria Mandala Museum, Jakarta | |||
| Mitsubishi A5M | - | 1945-?? | † | ||||
| Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen | - | 1945-?? | †
On display in Museum Dirgantara Udara and stored for decades in Kalijati Air Base. | ||||
| Mitsubishi J2M Raiden | - | 1945-?? | †[citation needed] | ||||
| Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa | - | 1945-?? | †[1]
On display in Museum Dirgantara Udara. Captured from the IJAAF after the Japanese surrender and Indonesian independence. | ||||
| Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki | - | 1945-?? | †
Captured from the IJAAF after the Japanese surrender and Indonesian Independence | ||||
| Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate | - | 1945-?? | †
Captured from the IJAAF after the Japanese surrender and Indonesian independence. | ||||
| North American Aviation P-51 Mustang | United States | 46 | 1949–1976 | One example on display at the Museum Dirgantara Udara and another one in the road near Halim Perdanakusumah Airport. Several examples captured from the Dutch during the Independence War. | |||
| Northrop F-5 | United States | F-5E
F-5F |
12 | 1980[2]–Present | Only 2 are still flying, to be retired. | ||
| Sukhoi Su-27 | Su-27SK
Su-27SKM |
2
3
|
2003–Present (Su-27SK) | 3 Su-27 SKM Flankers Delivered in September 2010 | |||
| Sukhoi Su-30 | Su-30MK
Su-30MK2 |
2
9 |
2003–Present
2008–Present |
||||
| Supermarine Spitfire | - | 1945-?? | † | ||||
| Vought F-4U Corsair | United States | F-4U1 | - | 1945-?? | †[citation needed] | ||
| Bombers | |||||||
| Douglas B-26 Invader | United States | A-26B | 6 | 1960–1977 | One used by contracted USAF pilot 1st Lieutenant Allen Lawrence Pope for the sinking of the Indonesian patrol KRI Hang Toeah and the raid over Ambon in 1958 | ||
| Glenn Martin B-10 | United States | B-10B | - | 1945-?? | † | ||
| Mitsubishi Ki-51 | - | 1945-?? | †[3]
Flew July 29, 1947. Captured from the IJAAF after Japanese surrender | ||||
| Mitsubishi G3M | - | 1945-?? | †[citation needed]. Captured from the IJAAF after the Japanese surrender | ||||
| Mitsubishi G4M | - | 1945-?? | †[citation needed] | ||||
| Mitsubishi Ki-21 | 1945-?? | †[citation needed] | |||||
| Mitsubishi Ki-30 | - | 1945-?? | †[citation needed] | ||||
| Mitsubishi Ki-67 Hiryū | - | 1945-?? | †[citation needed] | ||||
| Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu "Helen" | - | 1945-?? | †[4] | ||||
| North American B-25 Mitchell | United States | B25-C | 42 | 1945–1979 | Handed over from the RNLAF following Indonesian independence, One example on display at the Museum Dirgantara Udara, another at the Museum Satria Mandala, Jakarta | ||
| Tupolev Tu-16 | Tu-16KS1 | 26 | 1961–1970 | Indonesia was the second country to own and operate the Tu-16 bomber. | |||
| Attack Aircraft | |||||||
| BAE Hawk | Hawk 53
Hawk 109 Hawk 209 |
20
8 32 |
1980–Present
1998–Present 1998–Present |
Of the twenty Hawk 53s, eight were lost in accidents and six were sold back to BAe in 1999. Only two are now still servicable[5] | |||
| McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk | United States | A-4E/F
TA-4H/J |
33
4 |
1980–2003 | Acquired from the United States and Israel in the 1980s. | ||
| North American OV-10 Bronco | United States | OV-10F | 16 | 1976–2005 | Grounded as of 2005 due to a fatal crash[5] | ||
| Tactical Airlift, Transport, Maritime Patrol Aircraft | |||||||
| Boeing 707 | United States | 707-3M1C | 1 | 1979–2004 | Used as the presidential transport until 2004 when it was sold to Omega Aerial Refueling Services. | ||
| Boeing 737 | United States | 737-2Q8 737 2X9 Surveiller |
1
3 |
2005–Present
1982–Present |
Replaced the 707-3M1C as Presidential Carrier
Fitted with Motorola AN/APS-135 SLAMMR (Side-looking Airborne Modular Multi-mission Radar)[6] | ||
| CASA C-212 Aviocar | NC-212-100
NC-212-200 NC-212-400[7] |
1
|
1996–Present | ††
Upgrading to NC212-200/-400 versions in the near future. | |||
| CASA CN-235 | CN-235 110/220M
CN-235 MPA |
6 3 |
1998–Present | ††
The Indonesian Ministry of Defence and Security ordered 24 CN-235MPA aircraft, including three for the Indonesian Air Force.[8] | |||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo | DHC-5D | 3 | 1998–Present | ||||
| Fokker F-27 Friendship | F27-400M | 8 | 1960–Present | One crashed on 6 April 2009, killing all twenty four occupants. There were six crew, an instructor and seventeen PASKHAS special forces trainees on board.[9] | |||
| Fokker F28 Fellowship | F-28 Mk 1000
F-28 Mk 3000 |
5 | 1970–Present | ||||
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules | United States | C-130B C-130H C-130H-30 KC-130B Hercules L-100-30 |
9
10 7 2 8 |
1960–Present
1979–Present 1995–Present 1960–Present 1979–Present |
Plans of upgrading or possibly buying newer variants. One of the first operators of the C-130 after the United States. | ||
† Note that this symbol means that these planes were captured by republican forces during the War of Independence, in which most were destroyed during the ensuing conflict between the Indonesian and Dutch Forces.
†† Aircraft with this symbol means they are locally produced by Indonesian Aerospace.
References[]
- Angkasa (Sky) magazine, Gramedia, Jakarta No. 7 Year XVII April 2008
- F. Djoko Poerwoko (2001) My Home My Base: Perjalanan Sejarah Pangkalan Udara Iswahjudi 1939-2000, Publisher - Iswahjudi Air Force Base, No ISBN
- Francillon, René J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London:Putnam, 1970. ISBN 0-370-00033-1.
- Gordon, Yefim & Rigmant, Vladimir (2004) Tupelov Tu-16 Badger , Aerofax, London ISBN 1-85780-177-6.
- Lake, Jon and Robert Hewson. "Northrop F-5". World Air Power Journal, Volume 25, Summer 1996. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1996. ISBN 1-874023-79-4. ISSN 0959-7050. pp. 46–109.
- "Pentagon Over the Islands:The Thirty-Year History of Indonesian Military Aviation". Air Enthusiast Quarterly, Number 2, 1976. pp. 154–162
- Scramble Magazine. "Indonesian Air Arms Overview" Indonesian Air Force Overview - Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara - Order of Battle, Maps, Squadrons, Badges, Photos, Air bases, Database etc etc
- Willis, David (Ed). Aerospace Encyclopedia of the World's Air Forces. Aerospace Publishing, London, 1999 ISBN 1-86184-045-4
Notes[]
- ↑ Francillon 1970, p. 203.
- ↑ Lake and Hewson 1996, p. 94.
- ↑ Francillon 1970, p. 180.
- ↑ Air Enthusiast Quarterly 1977, p. 156.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Scramble Magazine
- ↑ Boeing 737-2X9 Surveiller Radar
- ↑ C-212-400 Project
- ↑ CN-235MPA
- ↑ Fokker F-27 Accident
The original article can be found at List of aircraft of the Indonesian Air Force and the edit history here.