TSAMTO, January 13. The Indonesian state-owned company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) has completed production of the third (out of nine ordered at the end of 2017) NC-212i military transport aircraft for the country's Air Force.
According to a local resource iNews.id, the NC-212i aircraft with the tail number AX-2128 in the version of creating artificial rain (by sowing NaCl salt) has already been sent to the customer.
According to PTDI Production Director Batar Silaban, the company plans to deliver three NC-212i aircraft to the Indonesian Air Force in 2022, including another one in the version of creating artificial rain.
As previously reported by TSAMTO, the deliveries are carried out under a contract signed by the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and PT Dirgantara Indonesia in Jakarta on December 29, 2017. The agreement provides for the delivery of nine NC-212i aircraft in various versions, including four in the configuration for transporting troops, four in the configuration for aerial photography and artificial rain, and one more in the configuration for navigation training.
PT Dirgantara Indonesia announced the delivery of the first NC-212i to the Indonesian Air Force on January 26, 2021. The second aircraft was transferred on October 26, 2021. Both of them became part of the 4th Squadron of the 2nd Air Wing of the Indonesian Air Force. It is expected that the remaining six NC-212i aircraft will be transferred to the Indonesian Air Force in stages in 2022-2023.
According to the manufacturer, the length of the NC212i, equipped with two Garrett AiResearch TPE331-10R-513C turboprop engines with a capacity of 671 kW each, is 16.5 m, height – 6.6 m, wingspan – 20.28 m. The aircraft is piloted by a crew of two and can carry 25 paratroopers or 2.8 tons of cargo. The maximum flight range is 2680 km, the maximum cruising speed is 370 km/ h, the flight altitude is up to 7925 m.
The 4th Aviation Squadron is a unit equipped with light aircraft, with headquarters at the Abdulrahman Saleh Air Base in Malang (East Java). The tasks of the squadron are the preparation and operation of light transport aircraft for air support operations, conducting limited search and rescue operations, supporting the Navigator School, conducting initial training of pilots of military transport aircraft.
As reported in the PTDI press release, the company has been the world's only manufacturer of NC-212i aircraft since 2014 after obtaining a license. To date, the company has produced 119 NC-212i aircraft out of 603 NC-212 family machines assembled at all production sites in the world.
