Indonesia Becomes the Latest Buyer of German Tanks

Leopard 2A6

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

Indonesia’s order covers 104 Leopard 2 tanks, 50 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 IFVs are from German Army stocks, and reports suggest that the tanks will be second hand as well. This may be why previous reports have mentioned the Leopard 2A4 and 2A6 variants 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 2A6s are more than 4x heavier at 62.3t.

Bigger picture here

French VAB wheeled APCs are used for foreign deployments, and over 150 locally made Pindad “Anoa” wheeled APCs are used at home. A range of about 200 lighter armored cars round out its mechanized forces.

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.

Read more at: http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/rolling-sales-indonesia-becomes-the-latest-buyer-of-german-tanks-013042/