Indonesia’s Expanding Supplier Base - Poland

Indodefence 2008 Journal

In recent years Poland has become significant supplier of defence equipment to Indonesia, with the most important contract being the acquisition of the Kobra Very
Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) system. It should be remembered that Poland was also a supplier to Indonesia in the Sukarno era from the late 1950s onwards.

At that time Poland was a satellite of the Soviet Union and when the Soviet Union decided to back Sukarno, Poland was expected to do its part. This saw the supply of two Project 613 Whiskey class conventional submarines (SSKs) to the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) and a range of aircraft and helicopters to the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU). The aircraft supplied included the Polish LIM-5P version of the MiG-17PF and the SM-1 version of the Mil Mi-1 helicopter. When the LIM-5P fighters were supplied many were even flown by Polish pilots, while their Indonesian pilots were trained.

After 1965 links between Poland and Indonesia ended, with much of the equipment supplied eventually being scrapped. The first part of the story between Indonesia and Poland was over and it was only after Poland had achieved freedom with the collapse of the Soviet Union, that links between the two countries could be resumed.

In 2003 talks started between the Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) and Radwar, part of the Bumar Group, on the acquisition of a new air defence system that would supplement the existing Rapier SHORAD systems in use with Indonesia. Eventually in 2005 a contract was signed between Indonesia and Poland, one of the reasons for the extended negotiation period was arranging a financing package for the deal. In the end Indonesia would fund 15% of the purchase price, worth some $5.25 million, with the Polish government providing a loan of $29.75 million to cover the remainder of the $35 million contract value.

The Kobra VSHORAD system that the TNI-AD would be receiving would equip two air defence batteries. The central element of the Kobra system is the Mobile Multibeam Search Radar (MMSR), a 3D S-band system. The radar is linked to the WD-95 command post vehicle, one per battery, with radar data being transferred through
Radmor RRC-9500 VHF radios.

Kobra In Detail

Each Kobra battery consists of six ZM Tarnow ZUR-23-2KG-1 twin 23 mm guns, with each mount also being equipped with two Grom missiles. The Grom system was developed by ZM Mesko and entered service with the Polish Army in 1995. This infraredhoming system has a minimum range of 400 metres and a maximum range of 5,500 metres; height coverage is from 10 metres up to 3,500 metres. The ZUR-23-2KG-1 mounts are linked to the WD-95 battery command post vehicle by fibre optic cable through which they receive targeting and engagement data, each mount can be up to a kilometre from the command post vehicle. The gun system is based on the old ZU-23 twin 23 mm, but is far more advanced and equipped with a sophisticated fire control system.

The other major component of the Kobra battery is two Poprad vehicles and these carry a mounting for six Grom missiles. The Poprad can receive targeting data from the WD-95 battery command post or direct from the MMSR radar, in both cases data is transmitted by RRC-9500 VHF radios, as a result Poprad can be deployed up to 40 km from either the battery command post or the MMSR radar.

The radar, the battery command post and the Poprad system are all mounted on the Hussar vehicle, which is in fact the Land Rover Defender 110. The Team company in Wroclaw, Poland modified the Land Rover vehicles for the Kobra application. The Land Rover is already in service with the TNI-AD and there is an extensive Land Rover spares and support structure around the region.

In total the first purchase of the Kobra system for Indonesia consisted of a single MMSR radar, two WD-95 battery command post vehicles, four Poprad vehicles and 14 ZUR-23-2KG-1 mounts (two are for training use). A total of 74 Grom missiles were acquired, as well as a significant quantity of 23 mm ammunition. Indonesia also acquired the TR-23-2 training system for the ZUR-23-2KG-1; this training system consists of a gun mount plus an instructor station, with targets being injected into the fire control system to allow for engagement training.

The first complete Kobra system has been delivered to Indonesia and was accepted into TNI-AD service in November 2007. A second purchase of the Kobra system is underway, which will again provide the TNI-AD with two air defence batteries and an MMSR radar.

Success In Asia

Bumar, whose subsidiary companies are responsible for the Kobra system, have become a significant player in the Asian defence marketplace in recent years. In March 2002 it was announced that Bumar Labedy, the armoured vehicle manufacturing subsidiary of the Bumar Group, had been awarded a $368 million contract by the Malaysian government to supply 48 PT-91M tanks, six WZT-4 armoured recovery vehicles, three MID-M armoured engineer vehicles and five PMC-90 armoured bridgelayers with the KMW Leguan bridge to the Malaysian Army.

The PT-91M tank supplied to Malaysia is based on the PT-91 Twardy in service with the Polish Army but modified to meet Malaysian requirements. Changes include a new gun, fire control system, battle management system, communications, engine and transmission. In Malaysia Bumar Labedy are working with MMC Defence who will be responsible for logistic support of the PT-91 fleet and who are installing Malaysian-specified equipment into the vehicles prior to their delivery to the Malaysian Army.

The victory in Malaysia was especially significant for Bumar as it was won against significant international opposition, including tanks from Russia, the Ukraine and Sweden. Bumar Labedy have been building tanks at Glewice in Poland since 1951, with models including the T-34/85, T-54, T-55, T-72 and PT-91, as well as building specialist variants based on these models. It is believed that the Glewice facility of Bumar Labedy has produced more than 10,000 tanks since 1951!

Bumar have also become a significant supplier of equipment to India over the years. In 2001 they won a contract to supply 42 WZT-3 armoured recovery vehicles, based on the T-72M1 tank chassis, to the Indian Army. Then in 2003 this was followed by another order for 80 WZT-3 vehicles, after which in 2004 came a $202 million contract for 228 WZT-3 vehicles. The Indian marketplace continues to offer great potential for Bumar, with a number of major contracts under discussion.

Earlier this year it was revealed that Bumar were in discussion with India over a range of contracts that had a combined value in the region of $1.2 billion. Amongst the system under discussion were 200 more WZT-3 vehicles, 100 Loara self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, based on the PT-91 chassis with twin 35 mm Oerlikon guns, Kroton demining vehicles and 110 self-propelled guns. Also allegedly involved in this Indian package was Bumar taking a major part in the Indian Army programme to upgrade its T-72M1 Ajeya tank fleet.

In fact Poland has played a role in previous Indian efforts to modernize the Ajeya fleet, supplying a number of Drawa fire control systems. This new modernization effort could see Bumar supply, through its PZL-Wola subsidiary, up to 1,000 new tank engines to replace the existing V-46-6 diesel engine of the T-72M1, which offers 780 hp (582 kW) of power, with higher performance alternatives. Bumar could provide the S-12U as used in the PT-91 in Poland which offers 850 hp (634 kW) or the S-12R as used by the PT-91M, which offers 1,000 hp (746 kW) of power.