The Indonesian government plans to buy five new US-made Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft to modernise its fleet.
Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu announced the information but gave no details on the contract value or timeline for the planned purchase of the aircraft, produced by Lockheed Martin in the US.
Ryamizard said the Indonesian Air Force's existing Hercules fleet is aging.
According to the minister, Indonesia wants to start producing its own aircraft, but lacks capacity.
He said the government aims to obtain technology transfer with the planned purchase, so that the country can start building its own aircraft.
He noted Indonesia can make its own tanks and expects to strengthen its cooperation with other countries in defence and technology transfer.
The Indonesian government has been modernising its military fleet after a Hercules C-130B crashed in a densely populated part of Medan, North Sumatra, in 2015, killing 122 people, including 30 on board.
In 2016, another Hercules C-130 crashed into Pugima Mountain in Papua, killing all 13 people on board.
Last year, the government reportedly planned to buy five Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft, whose value amounted to 2 billion USD. However, in March this year the Indonesian Air Force announced that it would only acquire two.
VNA
