President Prabowo Subianto presided on Sunday, August 10, 2025 the largest structural expansion in the modern history of the Indonesian Military (TNI), marking the establishment of 162 new commands and units across the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

The inauguration, held at the Army Special Forces(Kopassus) Training and Education Center in Batujajar, West Bandung, West Java, was accompanied by the appointment of 49 new high-ranking officers, an expansion in top brass positions enabled by Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 84/2025, which increased the number of commanding general officer posts from 371 to 420.

The new organizational structure includes six additional regional military commands (Kodam), 14 Main Naval Bases (Lantamal), three Air Force Regional Commands (Kodau), and numerous elite and territorial units: six new Kopassus groups, one Marine Infantry Brigade, one Air Force Rapid Reaction Troops (Kopasgat) regiment, and 100 Territorial Development Battalions to be stationed across all 514 regencies and municipalities.

“This is part of TNI’s adaptation to the challenges of the times,” Indonesian Army spokesman Brigadier GeneralWahyu Yudhayana said on Sunday, citing the goal of strengthening the country’s defense system (Sishankamrata) while supporting national development programs.

Prabowo also inaugurated previously vacant top-tier roles, including the position of Deputy TNI Chief, now held by General Tandyo Budi Revita. Other key appointments included commanders for newly formed elite units, three heads of defense ministry agencies, and six new Kodam leaders.

Warning

While the expansion has been welcomed by some lawmakers and defense advocates for bolstering physical military presence, particularly in border regions such as the North Natuna Sea, defense analysts have warned that the initiative risks overemphasizing conventional force structure at the expense of emerging threat domains.

A military analyst at the Indonesian Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies (Lesperssi), Beni Sukadis, cautioned that a “heavy quantitative focus” on battalion expansion without parallel investment in technology, intelligence, and multi-domain capabilities could leave Indonesia vulnerable to non-traditional threats.

“The most relevant threats today are non-traditional and multidimensional ones, such as cyberattacks and digital espionage targeting national strategic infrastructure. These cannot be addressed simply by adding the number of battalions. We urgently need a dedicated TNI cyber command and enhanced network defense capabilities,” Beni said as quoted by Kompas, on Monday, August 11, 2025.

Beni also highlighted evolving terrorism and radicalization patterns, which are increasingly rooted in the digital space. Tackling these, he said, requires precision intelligence operations rather than mass troop deployments.

“Physical attacks are shifting to hidden forms digital radicalization and ideological infiltration through social media,” he said, adding that while reinforcing troops in disputed border areas remains crucial, such deployments should be integrated into a broader joint defense system through Joint Defense Area Command (Kogabwilhan).

Ultimately, Beni stressed that the success of Prabowo’s historic TNI expansion will hinge on doctrinal transformation and operational adaptability.

“Modern military strength is no longer about numbers alone it’s about the ability to read, respond to, and anticipate strategic dynamics in an intelligent and integrated way,” he concluded.