Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)
Posted on 08/24/2012 9:36:31 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
President Barack Obama's administration has proposed to sell air-to-surface guided missiles and related gear to equip Indonesia's growing fleet of U.S.-built F-16 fighter aircraft.
The sale, valued at $25 million, would be the latest U.S. move to boost security ties with friends and allies in a region stirred by China's growing military clout and territorial assertiveness.
Indonesia has requested 18 AGM-65K2 "Maverick All-Up-Round" missiles, 36 "captive air training missiles" and three maintenance training missiles, plus spares, test equipment and personnel training, the administration told the U.S. Congress in a notice dated Wednesday.
The AGM-65 Maverick, built by Raytheon Co, is designed to attack a wide range of tactical targets, including armor, air defenses, ships, ground transportation and fuel storage facilities.
"The Indonesian Air Force needs these missiles to train its F-16 pilots in basic air-to-ground weapons employment," the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in the notice to lawmakers.
The arms sale would contribute to making Indonesia "a more valuable regional partner in an important area of the world," the security agency added.
Such notices of a proposed sale are required by law and do not mean the sale has been concluded.
GIVING F-16s
The United States is giving, not selling, Jakarta two dozen second-hand F-16C/D fighter planes to strengthen bilateral ties and foster what the Pentagon has called a "much-needed" capability to protect Indonesian air space.
Obama and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia announced the F-16 transfer near the end of a nine-day Asia-Pacific tour that Obama used in November to re-emphasize U.S. interests in the region.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
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I was thinking the same thing, why are we not armign the Philippines. They are slowly losing control of their southern islands from Abu-Siaf, while Indonesia is killing Catholics on a daily basis. But then I remembered who is in the White House.
I just finished reading a book, “Lost on Planet China” by J. Maarten Troost. It is a fascinating and funny look at the country today. One Chinese expressed to the author fear about a war. The author said he didn’t think that China and the US were likely to go to war. The Chinaman said, “Oh, no, I mean a war with Taiwan. The should be a part of China with a status like Hong Kong.” And this was from a “politically enlightened” Chinaman who had been criticizing his government.
Obama - here take this cool squadron of F-16s for free and please keep my Indonesian citizenship a secret forever.
Indonesia is Muslim, btw. No surprise here.
Your points seem valid, yet the US gift of older, used F-16s is less generous than it appears in that it is contingent on upgrading the F-16s at Indonesian expense, thus generating work and income for Lockheed/Martin and its suppliers. In addition, the sale is likely to reduce Indonesia’s intended purchase of arguably more modern and capable Russian combat aircraft.
Great now there’s only 56 islamic states to give weapons to.
I wonder what our allies the Australians think of this.
Inexplicable: Hardly that.
Indonesia is Musl;im
Obama was once a citizen there. May still be for all we know.
In 2011 the Philippine Department of National Defense had the opportunity to obtain at least 12 F-16 C/D models under similar conditions - the aircraft were free and the Philippines would pay for reconditioning, maintenance, and training. They decided against they didn't want to foot the maintenance costs so they decided against it.
I believe he lived in Jakarta (Indonesia) for 6 years as a youth with his mother and stepfather so no surprise there.
I believe he lived in Jakarta (Indonesia) for 6 years as a youth with his mother and stepfather so no surprise there.
I believe he lived in Jakarta (Indonesia) for 6 years as a youth with his mother and stepfather so no surprise there.
I believe he lived in Jakarta (Indonesia) for 6 years as a youth with his mother and stepfather so no surprise there.
I believe he lived in Jakarta (Indonesia) for 6 years as a youth with his mother and stepfather so no surprise there.
Thanks for the reminder. It appears the Pinoys have signed up to pay $590m for a dozen Korean trainers that don't have anywhere the performance of the F-16's (0.65 thrust to weight ratio compared to the F-16's 1.0):
I hate to say it, but this sounds like yet another instance of corruption - the Pinoy brass are probably getting a massive bribe from the Koreans.June 20/12: Philippine buy? ABS-CBN news of the Philippines quotes Philippine air force officials as saying they will buy 12 TA-50s, in order to restore the air force’s ability to police Philippine airspace.
That ability was lost when the country retired its remaining F-5 aircraft in 2005, and the USA no longer bases fighters at Clark AB or USNB Subic Bay. Chinese violations of Philippine airspace and claimed maritime zones have been creating a lot of tension, and the country has been looking at its options for a couple of years now. Their efforts have involved requests for 12 used American F-16s, as well as examination of KAI’s TA-50 and Alenia’s M-346 Master. The M-346 doesn’t have an armed version yet, and the USA hasn’t issued a formal DSCA clearance yet. That leaves the TA-50 as its only approved option that can be bought right now.
The TA-50 deal is reportedly worth around 25 billion pesos (about $590 million), with a contract expected by the end of 2012. All 12 fighter jets are expected to be delivered by the end of 2013. If so, the Philippines would join its neighbor Indonesia as a TA-50 customer.
A 2nd contract for 6 fixed-wing aircraft is expected to replace the country’s OV-10 Bronco counter-insurgency planes, and designs from the USA (likely the AT-6B), Brazil (Super Tucano), and Korea (likely the KT-1) are expected to compete. Given the TA-50’s 2-seat design and ability to use laser-guided weapons, another possibility would be to add options to any TA-50 contract, and use it in both roles. This would be less effective for counter-insurgency, or as an intermediate trainer, but contribute more to airspace policing and defense. It depends where the country’s priorities lie at the time, and external events are unstable enough to change them. Philippines’ ABS-CBN | ABS-CBN re: 2nd buy | South Korea’s Yonhap.
May 16/12: Philippines. Philippine President Benigno Aquino says that his government had asked to buy second-hand F-16s from the USA, but is concerned that maintenance costs on these aging aircraft could end up being too high. This was the problem that forced the country to mothball its F-5 force in 2005, but it seems there is good news. From the AFP report:
“We do have an alternative, and – this is a surprise – it seems we have the capacity to buy brand-new, but not from America…. These are manufactured by another progressive country that I won’t name at this point.”
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