TSAMTO, November 24. The Indonesian state-owned company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) handed over the sixth (out of nine ordered) Bell-412epi helicopter to the Army Aviation Command of the Indonesian Ground Forces.
As reported by IDXchannel.com On November 19, a new helicopter with the tail number HX-4148 flew from the PTDI enterprise in Bandung to the location of the 11th assault Squadron at the Ahmad Yani Air Base (Semarang, Central Java province).
As previously reported by TSAMTO, a contract worth $ 183 million, providing for the supply of a total of 9 Bell-412epi helicopters, PTDI and the Indonesian Ministry of Defense signed on December 28, 2018. The transfer of the first helicopter under the agreement took place on December 29, 2020. Two more cars were delivered on February 17 and 19, 2021, an additional pair – on July 21, 2021. The remaining three helicopters are scheduled to be delivered in December 2021. All Bell-412epi helicopters will be part of the 11th Assault Aviation Squadron of the Army Aviation Center, located at the Ahmad Yani Air Base in Semarang.
In accordance with the cooperation agreement between the Indonesian PTDI and the American Bell, the ordered helicopters are manufactured in the USA by Bell, and then transferred to PTDI for adaptation before delivery in accordance with the requirements of the Indonesian CB. The first two gliders arrived from Bell Textron Canada in early 2019. Each helicopter is equipped with weapons, including the M134D machine gun of the American company Dillon Aero for 7.62 x 51 mm caliber ammunition manufactured by PT Pindad.
Bell-412epi are equipped with an integrated "glass" crew cabin, a four-axis autopilot, two more powerful PT6T-9 Twin Pac engines compared to PT6T-3D, which were equipped with the previous Bell-412EP series. The new powerplant provides 13% more take-off power. The carrying capacity of the Bell-412epi is 5534 kg. The helicopter provides transportation of 15 military personnel with equipment (including 1 pilot). With a fuel reserve of 1251 liters at a cruising speed of 235 km/h, it can fly up to 687 km with a payload of 4309 kg.
