Indra Komara, Jakarta – Air force chief of staff (KSAU) Air Martial Yuyu Sutisna has attended the Avalon Air Show in Melbourne, Australia. During a break in the visit, Sutisna met with the Commander General of the US 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Major General Thomas D Weidley.
During the meeting Weidley said that the US air force offered to forge closer cooperation with the Indonesian air force in the form of joint training and humanitarian assistance.
“We suggested and offered to Indonesia that they learn from the US about operational air squadrons, maintenance, and other issues related to these aircraft”, Weidley was reported as telling Sutisna in a written release on Wednesday February 27.
The two countries will also discuss plans to buy Super Hercules C-130J heavy transport aircraft which are reportedly different from the earlier generation of Hercules aircraft.
Sutisna also conveyed his thanks for the offer of cooperation from the US Marine Aircraft Wing. He said that the invitation for cooperation between Indonesia and the US will be discussed further at an annual bilateral meeting in Hawaii.
“There will be a follow up to this so cooperation will be more comprehensive and technical implementation can be discussed at the annual bilateral meeting between the TNI [Indonesian military] and the USPACOM [US Indo-Pacific Command] in Hawaii”, said Sutisna.
Also accompanying Sutisna was KSAU planning assistant Air Martial Asep Dian Hermawan, Air Martial Donny Ermawan and Indonesia’s air force attache in Australia. (idn/knv)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Bertemu di Australia, Angkatan Udara AS Ajak TNI AU Latihan Bersama”.]
