Military

Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Udara (TNI AU)
Indonesian Armed Forces - Air Force
AURI - Air Force of the Republic of Indonesia

The Air Force of the Republic of Indonesia (formerly AURI, currently TNI Angkatan Udara), like the navy, was also established as a separate service in 1946 and evolved from the aviation division of the People's Security Forces (BKR). When it became a separate service, the air force had only a few pilots. Nevertheless, it assumed responsibility for the air defense of the republic and took over all existing Dutch airfields and equipment.

Initially, the air force was fairly small and flew mostly United States- and West Europeanorigin aircraft. However, between 1958 and 1964, the force expanded rapidly and switched to Soviet-bloc aircraft, purchasing more than 100 MiG-17 fighters, Il-28 bombers, and other aircraft from Soviet and East European sources. Personnel strength doubled. By the early 1960s, the Indonesian air force was the best equipped air arm in Southeast Asia.

The influence and capability of the air force fell sharply after the 1965 attempted coup. The air force was heavily purged for its role in the events associated with the coup attempt, and the abrupt turn away from the Soviet bloc ended the significant flow of equipment and logistics support that had been the key to expansion during the early 1960s. The air force's large armada of Soviet aircraft subsequently fell into disuse and disrepair. At the same time, the sharp drop in defense expenditures initiated under Suharto, and the anticommunist orientation of the New Order government, prevented the purchase of needed spare parts and maintenance assistance and led to the rapid grounding of almost all East European-made equipment. Significant modernization did not get under way until the late 1970s with acquisition of the F5 and A-4 aircraft from the United States.

Pilots generally began flight instruction in propeller-driven T-34 Turbo-Mentors. A squadron of British Aerospace T-53 Hawks was used for advanced training. However, competition with higher paying civilian airlines led to a continuing shortfall of pilots and aviation support personnel. To remedy the situation, the air force announced in 1981 that male and female senior high school graduates would be accepted for expense-free training as shortterm aviation officers. Graduates of the two-year program would serve ten years in the air force and then be released to find employment in the civilian sphere.

The Indonesian Air Force Chief of Staff, Marshall Agus Supriatna on a Press Conference at the rehearsal of commemoration of the 69th anniversary of the Indonesian Air Force at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta on 08 April 2015 said the Air Force continue to evaluate itself to face the regional and global challenges. "By looking at the globalization or national, regional and global strategic development, the Indonesian Air Force ( TNI AU ) always evaluates itself. Even regarding the terrorism issues the Air Force also evaluates and prepares itself until the lowest command unit of air base to to make an early detection so that they cannot develop especially to the Ring 1of air base across Indonesia."

Organization

The 1985 reorganization of the military made significant changes in the former territorial commands of the air force, which were eliminated from the structure altogether, with the service represented on the KODAM staff by a senior liaison officer. The air force territorial commands were replaced by two Operations Commands (KO-OPS). The Air Force KO-OPS split with KO-OPS I corresponding to KODAMs I through IV and VI and with KO-OPS II corresponding to KODAM V and KODAMs VII through IX. The air force's National Air Defense Command (KOHANUDNA) remained under the ABRI commander in chief. It had an essentially defensive function that included responsibility for the early warning system.

In 1992 air force strength was about 27,000. Air force strength was about 24,000 in 2009. Approximately 4,000 of these personnel formed four battalions of "quick action" paratroopers. The structure of the air force consisted of a headquarters staff in Jakarta supporting the chief of staff, two subordinate commands (Air Matériel Command and Air Training Command), and three operational commands (Ko-Op I, Ko-Op II, and the National Air Defense Command).

The Air Matériel Command was headquartered in Bandung, Jawa Barat Province, and the Air Training Command was in Surabaya, Jawa Timur Province. Indonesia's air operations were divided into two area commands with Jakarta being the east/west dividing point. The largest of the operational commands was Ko-Op II, headquartered in Ujungpandang, Sulawesi Selatan Province, and responsible for all air force operations east of Jakarta (including Kalimantan). KoOp I, headquartered in Jakarta, covered air force operations west of Jakarta. The National Air Defense Command, also headquartered in Jakarta, had operational control over all fighter and counterinsurgency aircraft.

• SKADRON UDARA 1 : OV-10 BRONCO
• SKADRON UDARA 2 : F-27 DAN CN-235
• SKADRON UDARA 3 : F-16 FIGHTING FALCON
• SKADRON UDARA 4 : C-212 DAN CESSNA
• SKADRON UDARA 5 : BOEING 737
• SKADRON UDARA 6 : TWINPAC
• SKADRON UDARA 7 : BELL-47 SIOUX / SOLOY DAN HUGHES 500
• SKADRON UDARA 8 : SA-330 PUMA
• SKADRON UDARA 11 : A-4 SKY HAWK
• SKADRON UDARA 12 : HAWK 100 / 200
• SKADRON UDARA 14 : F-5 TIGER II
• SKADRON UDARA 15 : HS HAWK MK-53
• SKADRON UDARA 17 : BOEING 707, F-28, F-27 DAN SA-330 PUMA
• SKADRON UDARA 31 : HERCULES C-130
• SKADRON UDARA 32 : HERCULES C-130

In 1980 the air force enunciated a forward defense strategy that required building or upgrading air bases throughout Indonesia as well as main bases on Java. Most of those upgrades involved civilian airfields also used by the air force. A major upgrade at Ranai Air Base on Natuna Island provided a base for improved surveillance of the South China Sea. Iswahyudi Air Base was upgraded to enable it to handle modern jet fighter aircraft. In 1992, most airfield upgrade programs had been started but most combat aircraft were still based on Java. The exception was one squadron of A-4 aircraft at Pekanbaru Air Base, Riau Province, and another at Hasanuddin Air Base near Ujungpandang.