"We haven`t heard any news from the US government," Marshal TNI Imam Safaat said.Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia is still waiting for confirmation from the United States (US) government on its request to be a recipient of F-16 jet fighter planes Washington is planning to donate to other countries.
"We are now still waiting for confirmation on our request for the F-16 jet fighters," Indonesian Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal TNI Imam Sufaat said here Monday.
Imam said the Indonesian Air Force had submitted a request to the United States related to 24 F-16 jet fighters Washington had been wanting to donate to other countries since 2009 but so far it had not received any confirmations from the US.
"We haven`t heard any news from the US government. This is possibly because the US government has received similar requests from many other countries," he said.
Therefore, the Indonesian Air Force was now planning a special approach to the US to approve the jetfighter grant , Imam said.
The Indonesian Air Force was also planning to buy the replacement aircraft for OV-10 Bronco, helicopters, and the F-22 Raptors, because there are additional funds for accelerating the major weaponry defense system equipments amounting to Rp4 trillion.
"This additional budget is also used for the weaponry system equipment maintenance and spare parts besides the weaponry itself," Imam said.
This is in accordance with the 2010-2014 Air Force`s strategic planning program development, he said.
(U.A050/HAJM/A014/P003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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