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Indonesian navy orders 11 Panther copters to re-enact anti-submarine squadron

Xinhua, September 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

A senior officer of the Indonesian Navy said on Wednesday that it has ordered 11 Panther helicopters to re-enact its anti-submarine unit Squadron 100 which stopped the service in the late 1980s.

"The helicopters would be delivered gradually with four units to arrive by 2017," Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral M Zainuddin said.

Soon after the arrival of the helicopters, the squadron will be activated, he said, adding that the contract to acquire those helicopters has been approved by government and the producer.

Squadron 100 was once regarded as one of the most powerful military units in the world in the 1960s.

The Eurocopter SA 565 Panther helicopter is designed to carry out a wide range of military operations that include combat assault, fire support, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, search and rescue and medical evacuation.

The naval variant of SA 565 Panther now serves navies of the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, China, Bulgaria and France.

Zainuddin said that the Navy is also expecting the arrival of six submarines - three Chang Bogo-class and three Kilo-class. The first three are scheduled to be delivered in 2017. Endi