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Dirgantara delivers NC212i aircraft to Thailand
State-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) has sent one NC212i aircraft ordered by Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry
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tate-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) has sent one NC212i aircraft ordered by Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry. The plane is expected to arrive in the Southeast Asian country on Thursday.
The aircraft took a ferry flight on Tuesday from DI's delivery center hangar in Bandung, West Java, and it stopped by Hang Nadim Airport in Batam before flying to Thailand’s Hat Yai International Airport and to Nakhon Sawan Air Base in Muang, Thailand, as its last destination.
The multifunctional aircraft, the newest generation of the NC212 series with a capacity of 28 passengers, was piloted by DI's chief test pilot Capt. Esther Gayatri Saleh and copilot Capt. Ervan Gustanto on the ferry flight.
DI marketing director Ade Yuyu Wahyuna said the Department of Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation at the ministry was set to conduct the final welcoming ceremony for the aircraft on Friday.
The Indonesian aircraft producer signed an agreement worth US$25.2 million with Thailand’s AICE Enterprises on the procurement of two NC212i aircraft on March 17, 2017.
The other aircraft is set to be handed over by the end of this year.
Ade said the NC212i aircraft was considered to meet Thailand’s defense requirements. In addition, Thailand’s close proximity to Indonesia also made it easier for DI to provide after-sales support for the neighboring country.
Thailand, which has bought eight aircraft manufactured by DI since 1978, ranging from NC212 aircraft to TCN235 military transport aircraft, is the second-biggest customer of DI, Ade said.
According to DI, the NC212i can be used for various purposes, including passenger transport, producing artificial rain, medical evacuation and maritime patrol, as the aircraft could be custom-made in accordance with the customer’s operational needs.
As of October 2019, DI has produced around 114 NC212 series aircraft for both domestic and international markets, from a total of around 585 NC212 series aircraft available in the world.
Thailand used the NC212 series for weather modification purposes while other Southeast Asian countries the Philippines and Vietnam used the aircraft for military transportation, DI said.
The NC212i is currently assembled fully by DI, Ade said, making the state-owned company — which was founded by the late former president BJ Habibie — the only plane manufacturer in the world that can produce that type of aircraft.
“For the next 10 years, [DI] has to produce around 255 NC212i aircraft. DI plans to expand our market to countries in Asia Pacific and Africa,” Ade said.
The Bandung-based company has therefore targeted to increase the production capacity from four planes per year to six planes per year starting in 2020.
In Indonesia, NC212 aircraft are used by the Indonesian Air Force, Army and Navy as well as the National Police and the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency (BPPT), for civilians and military transports and as maritime surveillance aircraft. (gis)
