“Today, we successfully landed our C-130J for the very first time at Gatot Sobroto Airfield,” said Michael Thomas, U.S. Army Pacific senior exercise planner for Super Garuda Shield 25. “This gives us additional landing locations for future iterations of the exercise. So here in Baturaja, we can land our C-130J.”
The approval process began two years ago during Super Garuda Shield 23 with the end goal of getting U.S. Air Force C-130J and the C-17 Globemaster III access to Gatot Sobroto Airfield.
In 2024, the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) upgraded their runway. Following the construction, the Super Garuda Shield team went back to the airfield.
Thomas said the airstrip was recertified and approved by the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force in May 2025. However, before receiving final approval, the runways required the foliage at each end to be cleared off to lift all restrictions.
“Our engineers attending Super Garuda Shield cleared all the remaining obstacles of foliage and trees,” said Thomas. “This was a huge team effort that got us to this point, where now, we celebrate the success with our Indonesian partners.”
The strength of Super Garuda Shield 25 lies in the unity and shared purpose of participating nations, collaborating to build a more secure and stable Indo-Pacific region, including building shared air and space capabilities and capacity with allies and partners. With the exercise culminating on Sept. 4th, partner nations will continue to reinforce trust and combine efforts to increase global stability, security, and prosperity while upholding international law and shared values.
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