National Air Operations Command – Wikipedia

Military unit

The National Air Operations Command (Indonesian: Komando Operasi Udara Nasional / Koopsudnas) is one of the Principal Operational Commands of the Indonesian Air Force that is responsible for air operations including air surveillance, early warning system, air supremacy, and air defense of Indonesian airspace. Koopsudnas plays a vital part for air defense capability of the Republic of Indonesia. This command is held by a three-star air force marshal.

History[edit]

History of National Air Defense Forces Command[edit]

At the early of 1962, Operation Trikora was getting underway as the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) 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 (Komando Pertahanan Udara Gabungan APRI) 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.^[1]

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.^[1] 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.

History of Air Force Operations Commands[edit]

Air Force Operations Command were established 1951 with Air Cdre Ruslan Danurusamsi as its first commander.^[2] In 1976, the Command was renamed into Combined Air Combat Command. In 1985, as part of a major reorganization of the armed forces, the Command was split into Air Force Operations Commands 1 and 2 to oversee supervision over all regional air bases and air force formations within Indonesia on the basis of the Air Regions. On 11 May 2018, Air Force Operations Command 3 was officially formed on the basis of the Air Force Operations Command 2 bases in eastern Indonesia.^[3]

History of Air Operations Command[edit]

In January 2022, National Air Defense Command and Air Force Operations Command 1, 2, and 3 were officially merged into one organization – Koopsudnas. The unified service serves as a umbrella institution managing air defense and superiority operations under the Air Force.^[4]

Organization[edit]

• Command HQ
• National Air Operations Commands Component (Komponen Komando Operasi Udara Nasional)

Air Operations Commands[edit]

The Air Operations Command is led by a two-star Air Vice-Marshal who oversees the aviation and engineering squadrons, and air base elements of all TNI-AU air bases and subordinate air wings. Each Air Force Base is divided based on function into 2 types, namely, headquarter air base and operation air base. Meanwhile, based on the area and completeness of the facilities, it is divided into 3 types, namely type A, type B and type C. Apart from maintenance matters, Air Squadrons and their subordinate units may move from headquarter airbase to operation airbase in certain operations during combat exercises or warfare. The Engineering Squadron generally serves the maintenance of aircraft belonging to the Air Squadron which are at the same AFB.

1st Air Operations Command[5]
Air Wings	Air Squadrons		Engineering Squadrons	Air Force Base
	Emblem	Official Name		Headquarters (Type)	Operations (Type)
1st Air Wing		2nd Air Squadron (transport)	021st Engineering Squadron		Husein Sastranegara Air Base, Bandung (B) Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Base, Banda Aceh (B) Soewondo Air Base, Medan (B) Sutan Sjahrir Air Base, Padang (B) Sri Mulyono Herlambang Air Base, Palembang (B) Maimun Saleh Air Base, Sabang (B) Raja Haji Fisabilillah Air Base, Tanjungpinang (B) Hang Nadim Air Base,[6]Batam (C) Pangeran M. Bunyamin Air Base, Lampung (C) Haji Abdullah Sanusi Hanandjoeddin Air Base, Belitung (C) Wiriadinata Air Base, Tasikmalaya (C) Sugiri Sukani Air Base (id), Cirebon (C) General Soedirman Air Base, Purbalingga (C) Harry Hadisoemantri Air Base (id), Bengkayang (C)
		17th Air Squadron (VIP)
		31st Air Squadron (transport)
		45th Air Squadron (VIP)
4th Air Wing		6th Air Squadron (helicopter)	024th Engineering Squadron
		8th Air Squadron (helicopter)
6th Air Wing		12th Air Squadron (fighter)	045th Engineering Squadron
		16th Air Squadron (fighter)
7th Air Wing		1st Air Squadron (fighter)
		51st Air Squadron (UAV)
8th Air Wing		7th Air Squadron(helicopter)
		52nd Air Squadron (UAV)
2nd Air Operations Command[7]
Air Wings	Air Squadrons		Engineering Squadrons	Air Force Base
	Emblem	Official Name		Headquarters (Type)	Operations (Type)
2nd Air Wing		4th Air Squadron (transport)	022nd Engineering Squadron
		21st Air Squadron (close air support)
		32nd Air Squadron (transport)
3rd Air Wing		3rd Air Squadron (fighter)	042nd Engineering Squadron
		14th Air Squadron (fighter)
		15th Air Squadron (fighter)
5th Air Wing		5th Air Squadron (recon)	044th Engineering Squadron
		11th Air Squadron (fighter)
		33rd Air Squadron (transport)
3rd Air Operations Command[8]
Air Wings	Air Squadrons		Engineering Squadrons	Air Force Base
	Emblem	Official Name		Headquarters (Type)	Operations (Type)
		27th Air Squadron (transport)

Quick Reaction Forces Command[edit]

Quick Reaction Forces Command
Wings	Detachment	Battalion
1st Para-Commando Wing	1st Matra Detachment 471st Air Defense Detachment 474th Air Defense Detachment 476th Air Defense Detachment	461st Commando Battalion 463rd Commando Battalion 467th Commando Battalion
2nd Para-Commando Wing	2nd Matra Detachment 472nd Air Defense Detachment	464th Commando Battalion 466th Commando Battalion 468th Commando Battalion
3rd Para-Commando Wing	3rd Matra Detachment 473rd Air Defense Detachment 475th Air Defense Detachment 477th Air Defense Detachment	462nd Commando Battalion 465th Commando Battalion 469th Commando Battalion
	901st Intelligence Detachment 902nd Special Action Detachment 903rd Special Support Detachment

Sector Commands[edit]

Commands	Headquarters	Radar Unit	Missile Unit	Operational Control
State Capital City Sector Command		211th Radar Unit – Mauk, Tangerang Regency, Banten 212th Radar Unit – Ranai, Natuna Regency, Riau Islands 213th Radar Unit – Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands 214th Radar Unit – Tegal, Central Java 215th Radar Unit – Congot, Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta 216th Radar Unit – Surade, Sukabumi Regency, West Java		National Air Operations Command
1st Sector Command				1st Air Operations Command
2nd Sector Command		221st Radar Unit – Malang, East Java 222nd Radar Unit – Ploso, Jombang Regency, East Java 223rd Radar Unit – Balikpapan, East Kalimantan 224th Radar Unit – Kwandang, North Gorontalo, Gorontalo 225th Radar Unit – Tarakan, North Kalimantan 226th Radar Unit – Buraen, South Amarasi, Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (formerly 241st Radar Unit)[9]		2nd Air Operations Command
3rd Sector Command		241st Radar Unit – South Amarasi, Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (Handed over as 226th Radar Unit) 242nd Radar Unit – Tanjung Warari, Biak Numfor Regency, Papua 243rd Radar Unit – Timika, Mimika Regency, Papua 244th Radar Unit – Merauke, Merauke Regency, Papua 245th Radar Unit – Saumlaki, Tanimbar Islands Regency, Maluku		3rd Air Operations Command

Notable events[edit]

Bawean Incident[edit]

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 Block 15 OCU from Skadron Udara 3 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.^[10]

Pakistan International Airlines Incident[edit]

Pakistan International Airlines’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.^[11]

Papua New Guinea Aircraft Incident[edit]

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 (the aircraft) according to standard procedures, and no harm occurred.^[12]

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Insignia of Kohanudnas (National Air Defense Command) (xxxx-January 2022)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]