Indonesia uses fighter jets to wake up faithful for Suhoor

The Indonesian Air Force (IAF) uses an uncliched way of waking people up for Suhoor (pre-dawn meal) with the help of fighter jets instead of drum beaters or mosque announcements in some other Asian countries during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

The IAF tweeted that the country will keep its tradition of waking people up for Suhoor, the Jakarta Post said.

The IAF said that two kinds of aircraft were mainly used: the F-16 and the T50i.

Jet fighter training conducted in several cities on Java Island, namely Surabaya in East Java, Surakarta, Klaten and Sragen in Central Java and Yogyakarta, officials said in a tweet.

“God willing, we will carry out the tradition to wake people up for Sehri using fighter aircraft,” the tweet reads.

IAF Spokesperson Colonel Sus M Yuris said that the practice was being used to ensure that fighter pilots do not train during fasting and do that before Sehri.

“Fighter pilots are not recommended to operate aircraft when they are in the state of having low blood sugar levels,” he said.

During Sehri, low-flying fighter jets will soar the skies and will be required to use afterburners to create a thunderous noise.

A training programme at dawn was initiated by the Air Force several years ago.

Agencies