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| Pindad tactical vehicles displayed in the PT DI exhibition |
Bandung, West Java (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked arms industry PT Pindad to produce a new variety of the 3/4-ton-4x4-type tactical vehicle to meet the needs of the TNI (military) and police.
"The new tactical vehicle type will be needed. I have asked that Pindad present a prototype within the next two months," he said when inspecting an armored vehicle produced by Pindad in a hangar of PT Dirgantara Indonesia aircraft-making company here on Wednesday.
President Yudhoyono was accompanied by several ministers, National Police Chief General Timur Pradopo, Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Admiral Agus Suhartono, the West Java governor and some officials from other strategic state-owned companies.
He asked the President Director of PT Pindad, Adik Aviantono Sudarsono, to present an expose on the readiness and production process of the newest type of armored vehicle when he visits the company in December this year.
Adik Aviantono Sudarsono meanwhile said that PT Pindad had just produced a unit of the 3/4 ton 4x4 type armored vehicle in cooperation with Renault of France. "The chassis and engine came from Renault while the body and other components were made by PT Pindad. Only one unit has been produced but we already have orders for a hundred of these vehicles." he said.
The tactical vehicle was intended for use on moderately rough terrain. It has a 4,700 CC engine and high mobility, he said. "The vehicle is fit for the army, the air force and the police to conduct patrols at the airport and in land operations but is not amphibious," he said.
He said producing the new variety was not difficult because it was a derivative of the Anoa type vehicle that was already being produced by the company. "The 3/4 ton tactical vehicle is a derivative of the Anoa type. So its development will not be a problem," he said.
Adik said the type was now still under development but it would be competed in 2014. PT Pindad has received orders for 55 units of Anoa, 330 units of five-ton armored vehicles and 660 units of 2.6-ton armored vehicles and 52 units of tanks. Besides meeting the need for combat and tactical vehicles Pindad had also received orders for Anoas from Malaysia.
Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro meanwhile said he hoped Pindad would continue to exist and develop new varieties of combat and tactical vehicles so that it could compete in the global market. "Pindad must become a world-class company. Its products like Anoa and others should also serve in international operations," he said.
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