INDONESIAN C-130 LIFT CAPACITY MAKING RECOVERY,

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000110

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, EAP/ANZ
SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/APSA WALTON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/21/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV MASS ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIAN C-130 LIFT CAPACITY MAKING RECOVERY,
BUT STILL NOT SUFFICIENT

REF: JAKARTA 77 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Indonesia's C-130 fleet is old and only a
modest portion of the planes are currently operational.
Indonesia has made the rebuilding of its military lift
capacity a top priority. U.S. assistance--in the form of
foreign military sales and financing--are beginning to
reverse the years of decline during sanctions. Indonesia is
a vast country with serious needs in areas such as disaster
relief and additional assistance will be needed to upgrade
its operational capabilities in terms of lift capacity. END
SUMMARY.

CURRENT C-130 FLEET OLD AND NEGLECTED


2. (C) C-130 lift capacity is a problem for the GOI. Based
on Mission's latest information, the Indonesian Air Force
(TNI-AU) has owned a total of 31 C-130 aircraft in several
variants. Of these, four have crashed and two have been
withdrawn from service. Eleven C-130 aircraft are currently
in operation. The entire C-130 fleet is of U.S. origin.
Seven of the planes were purchased through Direct Commercial
Sales (DCS); the rest were purchased through Foreign Military
Sales (FMS). None has been acquired through FMS since 1981.


3. (C) During the years of U.S. sanctions, the GOI was
denied access to replacement parts and supplies. Due to
this, the fleet was cannabilized to keep at least some planes
operational. That trend is only beginning to reverse and the
GOI will need more assistance.

MODEST U.S. ASSISTANCE SINCE LIFTING SANCTIONS


4. (C) Since 2005 and the lifting of sanctions, the USG has
sold the Indonesian Air Force approximately $16.2 million in
parts and equipment via FMS. Of that, $3.4 million was for
eight sets of C-130 wings, and $13 million was for engines,
props and miscellaneous parts and equipment.


5. (C) The first batch of grant money provided under Foreign
Military Financing (FMF) for the C-130 fleet will arrive this
year from FY-2008 funding. This assistance, for periodic
depot maintenance (PDM) of the C-130 fleet, will include
equipment and training for the TNI-AU to build its capability
so that it can perform complete PDM for Indonesian C-130s and
possibly for other fixed-wing aircraft.

GOI WILL NEED FURTHER ASSISTANCE


6. (C) These developments are consistent with the priority
that the GOI has placed on increasing the TNI's lift
capability. Indonesia is a vast country with serious needs
in areas such as disaster relief. As noted reftel, for
example, five TNI C-130 aircraft supported the recent
Indonesian earthquake relief operations in West Papua,
hauling food and supplies long distances to remote corners of
that remote region.


7. (C) Indonesia is also interested in assuming a greater
international and regional role, but it does not have the
lift capacity to underwrite such an effort. It is reliant on
international support for its UN peacekeeping stabilization
duties and on USG support, most recently when U.S. military
aircraft carried relief supplies from Indonesia to Burma
after Cyclone Nargis in 2008. Additional assistance will be
needed to upgrade Indonesia's operational capacities so that
it can fulfill enhanced responsibilities. Mission will
continue to seek opportunities to work with Indonesia in
pursuit of this objective.

HUME