REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SENTUL -- The Indonesian Military (TNI) Hardware and Weaponry System (Alutsista) is not adequate for Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, according to TNI Chief General Moeldoko.
"Our evaluation of the evacuation of the remains of the victims of AirAsia plane QZ8501, which crashed in the Karimata Strait, shows that our Military Alutsista is not adequate for SAR operations," Moeldoko remarked after attending a Christmas party at the Sentul International Convention Center in Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday.
He noted that with adequate military hardware and weaponry system, Indonesia will be able to better address accidents similar to the AirAsia plane crash.
Moeldoko admitted that friendly countries such as the United States, Russia, Japan, and Singapore have used more sophisticated military equipment in the search and evacuation of AirAsia flight QZ8501 victims.
"Who is not interested in the Seahawk helicopter of the United States"? Moeldoko asked.
The TNI chief refused to comment on the discovery of AirAsia plane's tail citing the matter was technical.
"I leave technical matters to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basrnas)," he remarked.
The TNI chief noted that he visited Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, on Tuesday to motivate the TNI soldiers and their counterparts from friendly countries to find the wreckage of AirAsia's ill-fated plane.
Basrnas Chief F.H. Bambang Soelistyo said on Wednesday that rescue workers have recovered parts of AirAsia Flight QZ8501's tail from the additional priority area.
"The recovery has been confirmed," he told a joint press meet on the latest developments of the Basarnas-led search mission to find the victims and fuselage of the flight.
According to Soelistyo, the tail of the aircraft that crashed in Karimata Strait waters near Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan Province, on December 28, 2014, was not found in the first priority area.
The parts of the aircraft's tail were recovered from the "second additional priority sector", he added.
A massive search mission has been launched since the day of the crash. Indonesia is assisted by countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the United States, China, Japan, and Russia.
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