- Aircraft to be delivered in multirole tanker and transport configuration
- Letter of Intent for four additional aircraft
Dubai, 18 November 2021
– The Indonesia Ministry of Defence has placed an order for two Airbus
A400M aircraft in multirole tanker and transport configuration.
The contract, which will become effective in 2022, will bring the
total number of A400M operators to ten nations. The agreement includes a
complete maintenance and training support package. A Letter of Intent
was also signed for the future acquisition of four additional A400M
aircraft.
”This new order will further expand the A400M footprint in the Asia-Pacific region. The A400M offers outstanding capabilities to Indonesia, providing
its air force with the perfect platform to deliver large and heavy loads into remote areas and
multiplying its airpower projection thanks to reliable aerial
refuelling capabilities,” said Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus
Defence and Space.
Capable of operating from rough and short runways, the A400M will strengthen the Indonesian Air Force’s
airlift
capabilities to rapidly respond to any crisis, demonstrated in the
aftermath of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck the
country in 2018. The A400M was the first large airlifter able to deliver
heavy loads like fuel trucks and excavators as well as food, clothes
and medical supplies using a damaged and short runway in Palu (Central
Sulawesi, Indonesia).
“The A400M is a truly multi-role platform and will greatly enhance
the Indonesian Air Force’s tactical air-to-air capabilities. This
aircraft will play a key role in other key missions including
paratrooping and heavy cargo transportation. We are also looking at
additional A400M acquisition in the near term, with future A400M
developments such as firefighting an important capability we are
exploring jointly with Airbus. The A400M will become a national asset
and the cornerstone for Human Assistance and Disaster Response missions,
beyond its tactical and air-to-air capabilities,” said Prabowo
Subianto, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia.
The A400M can carry heavy and outsize loads across strategic
distances, deliver these into tactical locations, while offering the
added aerial refuelling capability. An ideal solution to meet air
forces’ multirole tanker and transport aircraft requirements.
With the ability to fly fast and at high and
extremely low altitudes, the A400M is the ideal platform for refuelling
fighter and other major aircraft by means of two underwing refuelling
pods. Its built-in air-to-air refuelling capability allows rapid
reconfiguration as a tanker, making it easily adaptable to changing
operational scenarios and missions. This adaptability is unique to the
A400M, which can itself also be refuelled in flight.
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