DIRGANTARA INDONESIA concludes ‘teaming agreement’ with Air Bus Military

Aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) has concluded a "teaming agreement" with Airbus Military on the joint production and marketing of NC295 planes, the Indonesian company`s chief said.

The agreement would be implemented with financial support from PT Perusahaan Pengelola Asset (PT PPA), a state-owned company managing public assets, PT Dirgantara Indonesia president director Budi Santoso said.

The three companies signed a strategic cooperation accord in July 2011 and the teaming agreement was a follow up to that agreement, he said.

Under the teaming agreement, PT Dirgantara Indonesia would have an opportunity to make and market NC295 planes with Airbus Military, he said, adding the plane was already being used by a few Asian countries, namely South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.

"With the NC295`s performance having been tested for some time (in the three Asian countries), the aircraft is projected to meet a need of the `the Indonesian Air Force, namely replacing its Fokker-27 fleet whose service period is to expire soon," Budi said.

With the signing of the teaming accord with Airbus Military, PT DI"s continued existence after 2014 was more or less assured, he said.

Labeling the NC295 a "commercially competitive aircraft", Budi said, for PT Dirgantara Indonesia, making the plane would pose no particular difficulties as the company already had a long record of producing C212 and CN235 planes which were in fact earlier generations of the NC296.

The NC295 would be the latest addition to the list of aircraft types PT Dirgantara Indonesia had produced over the years. The company`s products were already being used by the Indonesian military and also marketed in the Asian region.

picture: wikipedia / source: ptppa.com

Merpati Nusantara Airlines buy 20 aircraft from PT Dirgantara Indonesia

PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines (MNA) plans to buy 20 aircraft types N-219 from PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI). This will be started in 2015.

"In our business plan until 2020 there was a need 20 units aircraft with 20 seater. PT DI manufacture it. And, in our meeting, PT Dirgantara Indonesia is able to produce in 2014, 2015 forward, on work," said President Director of PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines (MNA) Sardjono Jhony Ciptokusomo, after attending a meeting with a number of ministries related with PMN, in the Parliament Building, Jakarta, Monday (04/07/2011).

He revealed this as part of the promotion of synergy between the BUMN (Indonesian state owned enterprises). Sardjono would also agree if Merpati Airlines will use domestic products. "If it was say 4 million U.S. dollars per unit, then approximately 80 million dollars," he added.

For these funds, he could not say from which source. Purchase this plane will not use the funds obtained from the PMN (State Capital) amounting to Rp561 billion. But, he said, the intention is the first thing.

Purchase of 20 units of aircraft is expected to be fulfilled in three years, with seven aircraft per year. The aircraft is planned to use by Merpati Nusantara Airlines further reach out to the border regions. "So that the communities in the border areas do not feel isolated, do not feel left out," said Sardjono.

picture: google.com