History

The F-S knives were issued to Indonesian Special Forces Command (KOPASSUS), formerly called the Sandi Yudha Forces Command and KOPASSANDHA (which also means Special Forces Command).

It is an elite unit Red Beret Corps with its special camouflage field uniform.

Kopassus was founded on 16 April 1952, reorganized in 1985, and by 1992 KOPASSUS forces numbered some 2 500 army personnel. 1996 there was reorganization again and the unit grew to 6 000 men.

It is a strike force whose main thrust is counterinsurgency and antisubversive operations. As with other parts of the armed forces, the KOPASSUS also is looking at extending its capabilities to defend outer portions of Indonesia from foreign intervention.

Their red berets have an insignia with a FS knife
 and a patch with a F-S knife on the upper arm.

At the beginning in 1952 they used British surplus FS.

After some decades they started to make their own knives.
An Indonesian Factory called Pindad has made domestic blades and knives.
A mixture of British blades and domestic grips and vice versa can also be found.

During 1990-ies they bought knives from Carl Schlieper in Solingen. These knives are marked with manufacturers name and trademark like an “eye”. The grip has three bands of knurling similar to the French Resistance FS. The knife became surplus at the beginning of this century, but it is still used for parades.

Carl Schlieper "Eye"