JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has expressed a desire to accelerate the local manufacturing of long-range military drones — the first of their kind in the country — to 2022. The drone, technically known as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), is to be the first medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV in the country. Vehicles in the MALE UAV category are designed to fly at altitudes of between 3,000m and 9,000m for extended lengths of time. PTDI and PT Len were to originally manufacture five Elang Hitam drones by 2022 before beginning mass production. The first five drones would be prototypes to ensure that the vehicles were in line with the market's demands, Bambang said.

Source: The Star February 07, 2020 10:52 UTC