Indonesia to retire military aircraft over 30 years old

Indonesia to retire military aircraft over 30 years old

JAKARTA- Indonesia will decommission all military aircraft more than 30 years old, the defence minister said on Tuesday, as part of a push to modernise is fleet after the crash of an air force plane killed about 140 people last month.

Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu declined to give details about how many aircraft would be retired or how much would be spent procuring new equipment. "We have equipment that is 30, 40, 50 years old, planes and helicopters ... and we want to replace those with better aircraft," Ryacudu told reporters after meeting the president in the capital, Jakarta.

President Joko Widodo has pledged to nearly double defence spending from 0.8 percent of gross domestic product, which is among the lowest rates of spending in the region, by 2020.

An air force Hercules C-130B transport plane carrying 122 people crashed into in the city of Medan on June 30, killing all on board and some people on the ground.

The US-made aircraft went into service nearly 50 years ago.

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