THE EXPLOSION of Kodam Jaya’s ammunition warehouse in Ciangsana, Bogor Regency, West Java, on Saturday (30/3) raises questions regarding how the TNI carries out maintenance or preservation of the ammunition it has. Moreover, TNI Jayakarta Regional Military Command Commander Mohamad Hasan revealed that the explosion and warehouse fire were triggered by expired ammunition.
“When it comes to expired ammunition, what must be ascertained is whether preservation activities have been carried out according to procedures or not. This also includes the management of the destruction plan,” said military observer from the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS) Khairul Fahmi to Media Indonesia, Sunday (31/ 3).
Referring to Pangdam Jaya’s statement, he highlighted the hundreds of thousands of ammunition and explosives of various types stored in ammunition warehouse number 6. Of the 160 thousand ammunition and explosives, it is necessary to ascertain how many are in maintenance status and how many must be destroyed.
According to Fahmi, the greater the quantity and weight of expired and damaged ammunition, the greater the risk if it is stored for a long time. Fahmi said that not all ammunition has an expiration date, although all types of ammunition can experience deterioration in the condition of shells or projectiles, gunpowder and primary explosives because they are stored for a long time.
“Possible cases are that the casing or projectile is rusty, the gunpowder or primary explosive material is rotting so that the ammunition has the potential to self-explode or otherwise fail to explode or fail to fire,” he explained.
For ammunition in this condition, he said it should be categorized as damaged so that it can be separated, preserved and immediately destroyed. Apart from the suspicion that expired ammunition was the trigger for the warehouse explosion, Fahmi invited all parties not to rush to conclusions.
Also read: Pangdam Jaya Claims that the Ammunition Warehousing System in Ciangana is Very Safe
“Apart from the possibility of maintenance deficiencies, there are still other possibilities such as negligence, sabotage or force majeure that must be ascertained,” he said.
Therefore, an in-depth audit and investigation is needed to obtain comprehensive information regarding the causes behind the explosion and burning of the ammunition warehouse at around 18.30 WIB.
Previously, Hasan said that from the analysis carried out by his party, the warehouse explosion was caused by expired ammunition. He admitted that his party had written a letter requesting the removal of these ammunition from early 2024.
Also read: Fire at Ciangsana Bullet Warehouse due to expired ammunition
“But because this is a process, we collect them first, we tidy them up one by one. So this is probably because explosives are chemicals which are likely to be very unstable,” he admitted.
According to Hasan, there is no electricity system in the warehouse. Thus, an electrical short circuit is not considered to be the main cause of the explosion and fire that occurred at 18.30 WIB. As for the expired age of the ammunition, his party cannot confirm yet.
“But if we categorize it as expired, and return it from a unit that is no longer used, it may be more than 10 years old,” said Hasan. (Z-11)
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