Sukhoi Aircraft On Standby To Secure BDF

Denpasar, Bali, Oct 7 (Antara) - At least four Sukhoi fighter aircraft are on standby at the Hasanuddin Airbase in Makassar City, South Sulawesi, to guard the airspace during Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) VII in Bali Province on October 10-11, 2014. "The security arrangements for BDF VII will be strengthened by deploying four Sukhoi fighter aircraft that will patrol the airspace," Commander of Ngurah Rai Airbase Colonel Sugiharto stated here on Tuesday. According to Sugiharto, the fighter aircraft are on standby at the Hasanuddin Airbase to patrol the Indonesian airspace and return back to base. Additionally, four F-16 fighter aircraft from the Iswahjudi Airbase in Madiun City of East Java Province will also patrol the area. The Indonesian Air Force will also prepare two Hercules cargo aircraft each from Squadron 32 based at the Abdulrahman Saleh Airbase in Malang City, East Java Province, and Squadron 31 stationed at the Halim Perdana Kusumah Airbase in Jakarta. Sugiharto remarked that kite flying must be prohibited in the airspace within a radius of 32 nautical miles around the Ngurah Rai International Airport and Nusa Dua. The instruction to the local people to not fly kites is aimed to avoid any form of aerial disruption due to a previous incident when the string of a flying kite got stuck in a military helicopter while it was patrolling during APEC 2013. "We have coordinated and cooperated with the territorial officers to restrict kite flying in the airspace of Nusa Dua area," Sugiharto remarked. The annual foreign ministerial meeting, BDF VII, to be held in Nusa Dua area of Badung District will be attended by four leaders from Southeast Asian countries to discuss the current situation of democracy in the Asia-Pacific region.