The Indonesian Army received a batch of Starstreak short range surface-to-air missiles as part of the Thales ForceSHIELD Air Defense System, with the new equipment received by the 1st Military Regional Command on 2 October 2020. 1st Military Regional Command/Bukit Barisan (Komando Daerah Militar I Bukit Barisan / Kodam I Bukit Barisan) is a military area command (effectively a military district) of the Indonesian Army, named after the Barisan Mountains. It oversees northern Sumatera provinces of North Sumatera, West Sumatera, Riau and Riau Islands. With the new ForceSHIELD Air Defense System assigned with 1st Military Regional Command, these are expected to be used to defend the airspace over Sumatra Island.
The Thales ForceSHIELD Air Defense System were supplied by Thales UK, as part of a deal worth US$160 million signed in 2014. In addition to the supply of STARStreak short-range air defence missiles, the system comprises CONTROLMaster200 radar and weapon coordination systems, RAPIDRanger mobile weapon systems and Lightweight Multiple Launchers (LML), as well as associated communications, training and support equipment. For the realisation of this programme, Thales increase its existing industrial cooperation with the Republic of Indonesia, and has signed an agreement with the Indonesian defense company PT LEN Industri.
The Indonesian Army has selected the URO VAMTAC (VehÃculo de Alta Movilidad Táctico, “High Mobility Tactical Vehicle”) high mobility vehicle from Spain to be the platform for RAPIDRanger component. The URO VAMTAC vehicles are just one component of the ForceShield air defence network that will equip five Indonesian Army air defence batteries. The Thales ForceSHIELD Air Defense System is in the integration phase and about 20 vehicles will be delivered. Other elements include the Ground Master 200 radar, fire control system and Land Rovers fitted with the Lightweight Medium Launcher and Starstreak. Integration there is being completed by PT LEN Industri.
Starstreak is a British short range man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) manufactured by Thales Air Defence, in Belfast. It is also known as Starstreak HVM (High Velocity Missile). After launch, the missile accelerates to more than Mach 4, making it the fastest short-range surface-to-air missile in the world.[5] It then launches three laser beam riding submunitions, increasing the likelihood of a successful hit on the target. Starstreak has been in service with the British Army since 1997. In 2012, Thales rebranded the system under the ForceSHIELD banner. Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) is a lightweight air-to-surface and surface-to-surface missile developed by Thales Air Defence for the United Kingdom.
