Tu-16 Badger in the service of the Indonesian Airforce
The 1960s were known as the “golden age” of the Indonesian Airforce when it acquired many modern combat aircraft from the Soviet Union. This was due to Dutch pressure requesting NATO countries not to supply arms to Indonesia, strong anti-western sentiment, and policies shifting more to the left as the influence of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) grew from strength to strength. During that time, the Air Force became the most favoured of all the armed forces, as its commander Marshall Omar Dhani had good relationships with both the president, Soekarno and the PKI. As a result, the air force had the lion’s share of funds for the armed forces and it was used to purchase top-tier Soviet combat aircraft such as Mig-15 Fagot, Mig-17 Fresco, Mig-19 Farmer, Mig-21 Fishbed, Il-28 Beagle, IL-14 Crate and most notably the Tu-16 Badger bomber. They also had World War II era allied aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang, B-25 Mitchells, DC-3 Dakotas
With the Tu-16 Badger, Indonesia became the fourth nation that acquired long-range strategic bomber, the first was the US with its B-58 Hustler, Great Britain with its V-series bombers (Valiant, Victor, and Vulcan), and the Soviet Union which had the Tu-16 Badger. The need for a long-range bomber was realized when the armed forces were dealing with an armed separatist movement in Sumatra, and their B-25 Mitchells did not have the range to hit them.
The Badger had a top speed of 1050 km/ hr, a maximum range 7200 km able to carry 9000 kg worth of bombs and external hardpoints to carry long-range missiles such as the AS-1 Kornet (KS-1 Kennel) anti-ship missiles. Their first sorties occurred during Operation Trikora (1961-1962) , The Indonesian operation to annex the Dutch East Indies. The Badgers carried Kennel missiles on the hard points, they were planned to be used on the Dutch aircraft carrier, HNLMS Karel Doorman. However, all that firepower was never used as the US Government pressured the Dutch government to give west New Guinea to Indonesia via the UN.
Tu-16's were also later used during the confrontation period (1963-1966), an undeclared war fought between Indonesia against the Commonwealth, as Indonesia did not accept the formation of the state Malaysia, which consisted of the Malayan kingdoms, Singapore, Sabah, and Serawak (Singapore became independent in 1965). Tu-16 were used for long-range patrols around the Malayan border and conducted “show off force operations” to deter Commonwealth airpower. They had two squadrons ( No 41 and No 42 Squadron) operating from Iswahyudi Air Force Base (Madiun, East Java) One occasion, there was an incident where a Tu-16 was intercepted by RAF Gloster Javelins, which operated from Butterworth (Penang) airbase. However, the Tu-16 was able to escape and returned to its base.
Because of its excellent range, the Badgers also conducted long range flights and dropped propaganda leaflets deep into enemy territory such as from Madiun to Sandakan (2.839 km) and back, and notably to Alice springs , Australia (2,976 km) and back to drop some parachutes, communications equipment, and tinned food. This plane was flown by Air Vice Marshall (Ret) Suwondo. It was “A kind of psi-war for Australia” said Air Vice Marshall (Ret) RJ Salatun. (However, I have not found any western sources corroborating this story or photos).
The Badger’s career in the Indonesian Air Force was cut short after the attempted communist coup in 1965 that was thwarted by the virulently anti-communist Indonesian Army. The army took control of the state and brought it to the western sphere of influence, the Soviet Union then conducted an arms embargo to Indonesia, as a result, spare parts and maintenance were impossible and therefore, they had to be scrapped. There were also rumors that it was a political decision to appease the West “ AURI (Indonesian Airforce), had to scrapped all Tu-16’s to get access to Sabres and T-33’s (T-33 Shooting star)” said Bagio Utomo, mechanic of No 42 Squadron, who was involved in dismantling the fleet.