TARAKAN, NORTH KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA, Tuesday 28 October 2014 – The opening ceremony of LATMA BRUNESIA VI/2014 between Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF) and Tentera Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (TNI AU) took place today at Bandara Juwata, Tarakan, North Kalimantan, Republic of Indonesia.
The ceremony started with a parade consisting of personnel from the two exercise contingents.
On hand to jointly officiate the opening ceremony was Lt Col (U) Matyussof bin Haji Matyassin, RBAirF Base Commander and Let Kol PNB Tiopan Hutapea, DANLANUD Tarakan.
In his speech, Let Kol PNB Tiopan Hutapea hoped that the personnel involved in the exercise would gain more experience and knowledge than the previous exercises. He also emphasized that the personnel are to practice the highest standard of safety in every activities carried out as well as following the Standard Operating Procedures as mutually agreed by both Air Forces.
Assets that are involved in the exercise includes CN 235 from both Air Forces, as well as a Blackhawk S70A from TUDB, which will be dedicated as a backup aircraft, in addition to covering Search and Rescue operations during the duration of the exercise.
The objectives of LATMA BRUNESIA VI / 2014 exercise are as follows :-
a. To enhance and strengthen cooperation and understanding between RBAirF and TNI-AU in implementing and coordination of air operations in the training area.
b. To test the capabilities of both Air Forces in the aspect of personnel, equipments, procedures and logistics support. This also acts as an initiative for the drafting of Standard Operating Procedures for the ASEAN Air Forces' Cooperation on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief.
c. Establish and strengthen ties among all levels of participants between the two Air Forces involved.
The concept of the joint exercise is based on Operations Other Than War (OOTW) in the form of humanitarian aid containing logistics supply from the air. The exercise also includes pre - exercise briefing and tutorial about Operation Other Than War (OOTW) in terms of humanitarian aid after natural disasters and also practical training based on the concept of providing logistics supplies by air drop in the form of heli box and jungle line resupply to a location that cannot be reached by road.