REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MEDAN - The Indonesian Army will have 14 trillion IDR (1.56 billion USD) to buy its main equipment of weapons system this year. "That is the amount approved by the House of Representatives for the army to buy new weapons," Army Chief of Staff General Pramono Edhie Wibowo said on Wednesday. 

He said he would make sure that the fund would be well spent on the military equipment needed by the Army. He acknowledged that the army needed replacement of old weapons simultaneously and by phases.

He said once the plane got approval from the House of Representatives, the army would start buying the equipment directly from the producing countries in line with the procedure. Talks on the fund disbursement had been in the final phase between the defense ministry and the finance ministry, he said. 

The types of equipment to be acquired will depend on the requirement such as Leopard tanks, cannons and rockets with a firing range of up to 100 kilometers. He said the Army would also acquire 24 units of helicopters of Bell 412 type, tehn added that negotiations were in progress for the purchase of 20 units of helicopter of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Bawk type. 

The equipment would be distributed by phases to various regions which need modernization of weapons system, he said.  The North Sumatra Bukit Barisan Command would have armored vehicles to replace its old ones, and six units of combat helicopter. He said the Bukit Barisan command has a strategic and important role to guarantee security in the Malacca Strait. 

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