The United States confirmed on Monday that they will sell the Indonesian army eight Apache attack helicopters, worth $500 million, in a deal that includes radar, training, and maintenance.
In a press release published by The Boeing Company, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stated, "Providing Indonesia these world-class helicopters is an example of our commitment to help build Indonesia's military capability."
The U.S. had previously placed restrictions on weapons and arms sales, as well as military cooperation, in Indonesia but were lifted in 2005 when the country made progress in human rights, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
No conditions have been attached to the use of the attack helicopters, Minister of Defense in Indonesia Purnomo Yusgiantoro stated. The deal with the U.S. is a step towards modernizing the country’s military forces, which hasn’t made such a purchase in the past 15-20 years due to the 1998 Asian financial crisis. Yusgiantoro has assured that Indonesia’s economy is improving, and they can now afford to allocate funds to improve and modernize their armed forces.
Photo courtesy of Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo, Wikimedia Commons