Long term strategic cooperation continues

Airbus Military and PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) have signed an agreement to jointly launch an upgraded version of the Airbus Military C212-400 as a further step in their long term cooperation agreement. The aircraft, renamed as NC212, will be offered to both civil and military customers and will be a highly competitive offer in the market segment of light aircraft, being equipped with new digital avionics and autopilot systems. It will also have a new civil interior for up to 28 passengers compared to the current 25, increasing its cost efficiency significantly. The NC212 will be EASA and FAA FAR 25 certified.

The agreement foresees joint development, manufacturing, commercialization and customer support to cover the needs of the civilian, cargo and military light aircraft market segments for the next decade. The potential market in this segment is estimated at 400-450 aircraft in the next ten years. A Final Assembly Line is to be set up in the PT DI facilities in Bandung. This is a further step towards increasing the cooperation between the two long-standing partners.

The NC212 is the second immediate result of the “Teaming Agreement” signed between Airbus Military and PT DI, which supports PT DI’s revitalization through specific cooperation and business development projects, and aims to achieve a long term strategic partnership between Airbus Military and PT DI in the near future. The recent order for nine CN295s from the Indonesian Government and the related C295 cooperation packages between Airbus Military and PT DI were the first immediate results of this plan, including the creation of a CN295 Delivery Centre, a light CN295 Final Assembly Line and the setting up of a Service Centre in Bandung.

Since October last year, both companies have already put in place joint working teams located in the PT DI facilities in Bandung, with Airbus Military having deployed on-site. These teams are working in industrial and commercial areas, focusing on generating new business for both companies and improving industrial capabilities, engineering processes, IT tools and know-how transfer, in order to transform PTDI into a leading aerospace company for light and medium aircraft in the Asia Pacific region.

“This is further proof of our increased cooperation with Indonesia. We see a promising future for this very competitive NC212 in many countries worldwide. With the continued support of the Indonesian Government, PT DI and Airbus Military will be able to achieve many and great things together”, said Ignacio Alonso, Senior Vice President for Commercial, Strategy and Industrial Relations, Asia.
“In this new agreement, PT DI and Airbus Military will work together to manufacture and market the NC212 worldwide, offering a modernized, very competitive light military aircraft. This will result in strengthening the position of PT DI as a leading player in the region, exactly as we have set out to do in our strategic cooperation agreement with Airbus Military,” said Budi Santoso, PT DI President Director.

In his statement on this event, Boyke Mukiyat, PPA CEO said: “We are very pleased that PT DI is further strengthening its progress in its revitalization process. The increasing success of PT DI’s winning more work and with the agreement to launch this upgraded NC212 they are strongly moving towards not only the revitalization but the company’s growth goals. PPA fully stands by PT DI to assist its endeavour and provide support on a timely and most efficient basis to allow PT DI to become a leading aerospace company in the region.”

Source and photo: EADS