Defense Ministry Makes Depot-Level MRO Transfer Mandatory for Imported Defense Equipment
Under a life-cycle cost strategy, every foreign acquisition of defense equipment must now bequeath heavy maintenance capability to Indonesian industry, as the ministry pushes a 'Defence for Economy' vision.
Indonesia's Ministry of Defense has made the transfer of depot-level maintenance, repair and overhaul capability a mandatory condition of defense equipment acquisitions from abroad, according to ministry statement carried in Kompas' series on defense equipment maintenance business. Defense Ministry information bureau head Brigadier General Rico Sirait said the policy is part of a life-cycle cost strategy under which MRO budgets are consistently allocated to state-owned defense companies.
Under the policy, every new acquisition of major weapon systems from foreign suppliers must include the handover of heavy maintenance capability to domestic industry. The ministry is also directing national MRO facilities toward international standards, with the explicit aim of capturing maintenance business from neighboring countries under a "Defence for Economy" vision.
State-owned manufacturer Pindad is separately expanding its overhaul scope to cover imported equipment originally built by other makers. The policy converts each future import into a recurring domestic maintenance workload — a segment that is heavily document-driven, spanning maintenance logs, work orders, component histories and certification records.