(The name of this vehicle will be) Maung
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) officiated the name of a military tactical vehicle produced by state-owned defense products company Pindad as "Maung," Sundanese for tiger.

"(The name of this vehicle will be) Maung," the president stated while officiating the name of the vehicle after attending the Defense Ministry Leadership Meeting at the ministry office here, Wednesday.

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Admiral Yudo Margono, Indonesian Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, TNI chiefs of staff, and other military top brass were present at the ceremony.

The president broke a water jug to symbolically officiate the name of the tactical vehicle. He also signed his name over the vehicle's engine hood.

Maung is one of the newer products of national defense products company Pindad, a part of DEFEND ID, which was launched by President Jokowi on April 20, 2022, along with state-run aircraft manufacturer Indonesian Aerospace (IAe), state-owned shipbuilder PAL Indonesia, and state-run explosive manufacturer Dahana.

At the Indo Defence 2022 Expo & Forum last November, the president had promised to name three new domestically-made defense equipment showcased at the expo, including the Pindad-made tactical vehicle.

The president also lauded the target of the state-owned defense industry holding company DEFEND ID to immediately rank among the top 50 defense companies in the world at the event.

He then encouraged Indonesia to continue to strive for the development of the defense industry, as various countries had begun increasing their defense budget and new military technologies emerged.

The government will welcome with open arms private companies seeking to participate in the development of Indonesia's defense industry, Jokowi stated.

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Translator: Desca Lidya N, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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