Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE
BAE Systems is delivering the last six Hawk 209 fighters ordered by the Indonesian air force with vital components missing, as a result of a continuing US embargo on arms deliveries.
The affected components are believed to include Northrop Grumman APG-66H radars, and Rockwell Collins communications and navigation equipment. The radars have been delivered to BAE, but a retransfer licence is required to deliver them to Indonesia.
The delivery of the aircraft was halted last September as a result of a European Union embargo on arms deliveries to Indonesia sparked by the secession crisis in East Timor. The EU embargo was lifted in January, although the USA has maintained its ban.
"The USA continues its suspension of all new and pending commercial and foreign military sales arms transfers to Indonesia and normal military-to-military relations with Indonesia. The USA continues to monitor the role and activities of the Indonesian military for indications of serious reform," says the US Embassy in Jakarta.
Two of the aircraft are in transit to Indonesia by ship, and are expected to arrive at Pontianak air force base, West Kalimantan, at the end of this month. One more is waiting to be dispatched, while the other three are still being assembled at Warton in the UK.
The Indonesian air force says that it will initially cannibalise vital components from older aircraft, but "if the USA maintains its stance, then we will buy the four important components from other countries". BAE says it hopes the US position will have changed by the time the aircraft are delivered.
• The UK Defence Aviation Repair Agency has handed over the first UK Royal Air Force BAE Hawk T1 upgraded under the Fuselage Replacement Programme. BAE won a £100 million ($160 million) contract in December 1998 to supply 80 centre and rear fuselages for the RAF's Hawks.
Source: Flight International
