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In August 2012, reports emerged that Indonesia had made a deal with Germany to buy heavy tanks and infantry carriers, after the Dutch had demurred. The Indonesian Army has a long record of human rights abuses, which sparked considerable opposition in the Netherlands. In contrast, Germany has been pushing hard for defense exports as a way to keep its defense industrial base busy, and of preserving jobs amidst Europe’s economic slowdown.
In May 2013, those reports were finally confirmed. What is the exact shape of the deal? How will the new vehicles fit with, and compare to, Indonesia’s existing equipment? And how did we get to this point?
Indonesia’s Armor
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Indonesia’s order covers 103 Leopard 2 tanks, 42 Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles, and 11 engineering vehicles divided roughly evenly between Armored Recovery Vehicles to tow tanks out of trouble, Mobile bridge-layers, and AEV armored engineering vehicles. The IFVs are from German Army stocks, and reports suggest that the tanks will be second hand as well. This may be why reports have mentioned or shown the Leopard 2A4 variant for Indonesia, even though recent sales to Qatar and Saudi Arabia have involved the 2A7 variant. Rheinmetall’s Leopard MBT Revolution kit has also been mentioned, with extra armor, 360 degree visibility from mounted sensors, and other changes designed to adapt the tanks for urban warfare and counter-insurgency. The ARVs, AEVs, and bridge-layers are expected to be based on the Leopard 2 chassis, and the used Marders are likely to see a few upgrades before shipment.
The new vehicles will represent a big upgrade in both firepower and defensive protection. Indonesia currently fields about 100 British FV101 Scorpion 90 light tanks, and 70 or so related Stormer APCs and specialty vehicles. 300 aged French AMX-13 light tanks accompany the Scorpions as high-caliber firepower, and they’re accompanied by 200 AMX-VTT armed personnel carrier derivatives. The AMX-13 tanks are a 1950s era design, but they’re also uniquely light at just 14.5t, which improves waterborne carriage options and helps in soft terrain. Indonesia is the tank’s largest user, and its neighbor Singapore remains the 2nd largest. By comparison, the Marder infantry carriers Indonesia is receiving are double the AMX-13’s weight, and Leopard 2A4s are almost 4x heavier at over 55t.
Beyond its tracked vehicle fleet, a range of about 200 lighter armored cars round out Indonesia’s mechanized forces, plus over 150 locally made Pindad “Anoa” wheeled APCs that are used at home. A smaller set of French VAB wheeled APCs are used for foreign deployments.
There are some concerns within Indonesia that the new heavy armor will be too heavy for Indonesian roads and infrastructure, and questionably suited to its terrain. Indonesia’s fragmented geography is a challenging place to use tanks in any event, and the TNI-AD is forced to scatter its armored battalions across multiple islands. The Leopards and Marders don’t have to be suited to all of them, as long as they can find useful employment in a couple of places.
It’s worth noting that Singapore, the world’s 2nd largest user of AMX-13 tanks, bought Leopard 2A4 tanks in 2006.
Contracts & Key Events
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Nov 13/13: Contract valid. A Rheinmetall release offers key details of the actual deal, which “now comes into full force following the successful completion of all legal formalities.” The EUR 216 million deal involves:
“103 thoroughly overhauled and modernized Leopard 2 main battle tanks… 42 upgraded Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles and 11 various armoured recovery and engineering vehicles, plus [support and]…. an initial supply of practice and service ammunition.”
At least some vehicles have already been delivered to Indonesia, as Leopard 2A4s and Marder 1A3s have already appeared in a Jakarta military parade on Oct 5/13, as envisaged. Remaining deliveries will take place from 2014 – 2016. Sources: Rheinmetall Defence, “Indonesia orders tracked armoured vehicles from Rheinmetall worth around €216 million”.
Contract: 156 vehicles
May 16/13: Details. The Jakarta Post offers some additional details regarding the recent sale:
“Indonesian Army (TNI) Chief of Staff Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo said 164 used armored vehicles from Germany, including 104 German Leopard 2 main battle tanks (MTB) [and other armored vehicles]…. “We will have all of them already in Indonesia when the TNI celebrates its anniversary on Oct. 5,” Pramono said.
The armored vehicles were bought with a $280 million foreign loan…. Indonesia’s order only covered 44 Leopard MBTs using the same amount of the loan. “However, after we went to Germany and started negotiations, we got a cheaper price and we could buy 164 units,” Pramono said.”
The source of the foreign loan would be interesting information.
May 9/13: Confirmation. German Green party representative Katja Keul finally gets the details of Germany’s sale, thanks to a parliamentary question. The German government has authorized the export of 104 Leopard 2 tanks, 50 used Marder 1A2 infantry fighting vehicles, 4 Armored Recovery Vehicles to tow tanks out of trouble, 3 mobile bridge-layers, and 3 AEV armored engineering vehicles.
The sale furthers a broader shift in German export policies, which had traditionally favored items like warships and submarines, but not tanks and equipment that lends itself to use against civilian populations. KMW recently confirmed an export order from Qatar for Leopard 2A7 tanks and PzH-2000 howitzers, a larger deal with Saudi Arabia has been widely rumored, and Algeria is buying German armored vehicles in the wake of an extremely bloody civil war.
In Indonesia’s case, the German government is citing a durable democratic transformation as the rationale for approving the sale. Indonesia has made considerable progress in this area. On the other hand, the left-wing opposition is citing a longer history of human rights abuses by Indonesia’s military, and persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, that had stopped the Dutch from going ahead. Keul openly refers to Germany’s arms expeort policies as being not worth the paper they’re printed on under the current government (“…die Rustungsexportrichtlinien unter ihrer Regentschaft nicht einmal mehr das Papier wert”). Der Spiegel || In German: Katka Keul – response from Anne Ruth Herkes [PDF] and Release [no permalink] | Die Welt | Reuters Deutschland | Stern.
Sale confirmed
Nov 2/12: Types & details. The Indonesian government is saying that it is buying used Leopard 2 main battle tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and support tanks from Germany. It expects the first shipment before the end of 2012. Deputy Defense Secretary Sjafrie Sjamsuddin told the DPA news agency in Jakarta that:
“We are buying Leopard 2A4 and Leopard 2 Revolution models that are already modified and have new armaments…. All the political and administrative processes are complete, we are in the production phase…. We can use them as soon as they arrive…. The memorandum of understanding will stipulate the transfer of technology and the provision of spare parts.”
Indonesia names Dusseldorf-based Rheinmetall as its contract partner, and the MBT Revolution is Rheinmetall Defence’s modular upgrade package for urban warfare. The deal to refurbish the vehicles and add Indonesian systems is supposedly worth around EUR 216 million ($280 million), but Rheinmetall declines any comment on the sale.
What makes the story especially interesting is the fact that a representative of the German Ministry for Economics and Technology said on Oct 29/12 that “There is no request prior to export of Leopard tanks to remain in Indonesia.” In Germany all arms deals have to be approved by the Federal Security Council, which meets in closed session. Its secret decisions are only revealed after the fact, in the annual arms exports reports. Defense News.
Sept 14/12: Vice Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin welcomes the visit of Germany Charge d’affaires Heeidrun Tempel. Indonesia will reportedly buy 50 Marder 1A3s and 103 Leopard tanks, and Sjamsoeddin says that the final contract with Rheinmettal AG is scheduled for the 4th week of September. Republika adds that:
“…Rheinmetall AG had prepared the first dispatch of Leopard. Yet, due to unfinished administration and logistic, the Leopard will arrive in Indonesia on early November.”
Aug 24/12: Application in. Jakarta Globe:
“Indonesia is going ahead with plans to purchase used Leopard 2 battle-tanks from Germany, according to documents seen by DPA…. An application for the export of four such tanks to the Asian nation was filed on July 23, according to a German Defense Ministry statement to the opposition Green Party, which opposes military exports to countries where they might be used in human rights breaches.”
July 11/12: Sale, or no? After the Jakarta Post reports that Indonesia wants to sign a EUR 220 million deal for 100 Leopard 2 tanks, including 15 used tanks, the German government finds itself on the defensive. Cancellor Angela Merkel would only say that no details had been discussed during her meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but by the end of May 2012, the government had to reveal that Indonesia had expressed interest.
Der Spiegel adds that no official application for the transfer had been made, and cites unnamed sources in the German Defense Ministry who said they hadn’t heard anything more about a possible deal. Der Spiegel.
July 2/12: Switch. A statement from the the Indonesian defense ministry says that they’ve decided to buy Leopard Main Battle Tanks from Germany, with delivery to begin in October 2012. It’s part of the government’s $10.6 billion 2010 – 2014 strategic plan to improve the armed forces., with a third of that sum earmarked for procurement.
Defense Deputy Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said that the decision switches the government’s initial plan to buy the used tanks from the Netherlands, after waiting several months for the Dutch parliament to approve the sale. Defense ministry spokesman Hartind Asrin told AFP that:
“We had gone to the warehouse to look at them and they were good. The price was also right, at around $280 million…. The Dutch government was agreeable to the deal, but the Dutch parliament kept us waiting. There was still no approval after eight to nine months of waiting, so last week we called off the deal…”
See: Jakarta Globe | China’s Xinhua.
Dutch out, Germans in
Jan 26/12: Good buy? Army Technology reproduces an unattributed report:
“The Indonesian Army’s procurement plan of 100 used Leopard 2 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) from the Netherlands is facing critical reviews from [Indonesian] Commission I legislators overseeing defence affairs from the House of Representatives (DPR)…. with many House Commission I officials insisting that the tanks are “unsuitable”… People’s Conscience Party member Susaningtyas Kertapati questioned the compatibility of the tanks with the country’s infrastructure conditions, saying that the tank weighs more than 60t and could be too heavy for the nations’ bridges and roads. Kertapati added: “The main battle tank purchase must not be decided without taking into account our country’s geographical landscape.”
Negotiations will reportedly continue with the Netherlands until Jan 30/12, and the army is reportedly studying a competing offer from the German military.
Additional Readings
* The Armor Site! – Kampfpanzer Leopard 2
* Military Today – Marder
* Der Spiegel (Dec 3/12) – German Weapons for the World: How the Merkel Doctrine Is Changing Berlin Policy
* DID – Asian Tiger Ordering Leopards. Singapore’s order.
