Indonesian National Air Defense Forces Command


The Indonesian National Air Defense Forces Command is one of the Major Operational Commands of the Indonesian National Armed Forces that is responsible for air surveillance, early warning system and air defense of Indonesian airspace. Kohanudnas plays a vital part for air defense capability of the Republic of Indonesia. Kohanudnas report directly to National Armed Forces HQ, and not part of Indonesian Air Force although most of its personnel are picked from the Air Force.

History

At the early of 1962, Operation Trikora was getting underway as the Indonesian National Armed Forces were already engaging the military forces of The Netherlands in what is now Papua and West Papua provinces. The National Air Defense Forces Command was established on 9 February 1962 as the air defense division of that operation commanded by AVM H.M.Sujono on the basis of the TNI Joint Service Air Defense Command whose commander for Papuan air force operations was Colonel Leo Wattimena of the Air Force. At the beginning, the INADF was organized into 2 Air defense sectors covering parts of the Moluccas and the then Netherlands New Guinea, each composed of a number of radar stations. By March 1962, four Air Defense Sectors were active nationwide.
After the conclusion of Operation Trikora, the command was the first to be equipped with surface to air missiles in Southeast Asia, with the arrival of the S-75 Dvina SAM system, which served alongside the AZP S-60, M1939 61-K, M1939 52-K, Zastava M55, Bofors 40 mm gun and the Oerlikon GDF until the early 1970s, alongside radar stations built with Warsaw Pact and Yugoslav assistance.
The Air Force Air Defense Command, raised on 12 September 1963, form majority of the personnel under the Kohanudnas. Its primary mission is to develop and prepare combat readiness of air defense capabilities of the air force. The Air Defense Command is based at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport and has 4 air defense wings, which are 100th Missile Defense Wing, 200th Radar Wing, 300th Interceptor Wing, and 400th Radar Wing. Aside from these, personnel of the Army Air Defense Artillery Corps and the Directorate of Air Defense Operations of the Navy, both of the Indonesian Army and Indonesian Navy, respectively and activated in 1962, are under its operational supervision.

Organization

Under direct operational control of the Kohanudnas as the 200th Radar Wing:
Under administrative control of the Paskhas HQ in Bandung, West Java and operational supervision of the Kohanudnas:
  1. 100th Paskhas Medium/Long Distance Missile Regiment/Wing :
  2. # Regiment/Wing HQ
  3. # National Palaces Air Defense Missile Artillery Special Battalion
  4. # 101 Missile Launcher Battalion
  5. # 102 Missile Launcher Battalion
  6. # 103 Missile Launcher Battalion
  7. # 104 Missile Launcher Battalion
  8. 400th Paskhas Short Distance Missile Regiment/Wing :
  9. # Regiment/Wing HQ
  10. # 1st Mobile Air Defense Artillery Battalion, 1st Division Central Paskhas, Jakarta
  11. # 2nd Mobile Air Defense Artillery Battalion, 2nd Division East Paskhas, Makassar
  12. # 3rd Mobile Air Defense Artillery Battalion, 3rd Division West Paskhas, Medan
  13. # 471 Air Defense Detachment, Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, Jakarta
  14. # 472 Air Defense Detachment, Hasanudin AFB, Makassar
  15. # 473 Air Defense Detachment, Supadio AFB, Pontianak
  16. # 474 Air Defense Detachment, Adisucipto AFB, Yogyakarta
  17. # 475 Air Defense Detachment, Rusminnuryadin AFB, Pekanbaru
  18. # 476 Air Defense Detachment, Suwondo AFB, Medan
  19. # 477 Air Defense Detachment, Iswahyudi AFB, Madiun
  20. # 478 Air Defense Detachment, Manuhua Husein Sastranegara AFB, Bandung
  21. # 479 Air Defense Detachment, Manuhua AFB, Biak
Under direct control of the Air Force HQ and operational supervision of the Kohanudnas:
  1. 300th Interceptor Wing Air Combat Assault Squadron

    Notable events

Bawean Incident

In July 2003, Kohanudnas detected unauthorized military aircraft flying over Bawean Island off the eastern coast of Java for more than two hours, and ordered the Indonesian Air Force to scrambled two fully armed F-16s to intercept the unauthorized aircraft, which were five US Navy F/A-18 Hornets. The incident ended peacefully through a Friend or Foe hand signal. A US spokesman said that the naval aircraft had sought permission to enter Indonesian airspace while escorting a US aircraft carrier, but that the request arrived too late at the Kohanudnas headquarters in Jakarta due to red tape.

Pakistan International Airlines Incident

's Boeing 737-300 was detected entering Indonesian airspace without diplomatic clearance on 7 March 2011. Kohanudnas then ordered the Air Force to scramble a pair of Sukhoi to intercept and force the aircraft to land at Hasanuddin airport.

Papua New Guinea Aircraft Incident

On 29 November 2011, Syamsudin Noor Airport's radar detected Dassault Falcon 900 EX that carried Papua New Guinean Deputy Prime Minister H.O.N. Belden Namah entering Indonesian airspace, then the airport's ATC and Kohanudnas tries to contact the aircraft as it is an unscheduled flight, but no response. As Kohanudnas also didn't authorize aircraft flight clearance, they decide to scramble two Sukhoi fighter to intercept and shadowing the Falcon near Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, for about 37 minutes. It was found that Falcon was applied for flight clearance shortly before take-off and the clearance was not granted yet during the incident. The minister of foreign affairs of Indonesia said that Kohanudnas was conducting an electronic identification with radar and a visual identification by intercepting according to standard procedures, and no harm occurred.