Following the incorporation of the first transport aircraft at the beginning of last November, the Indonesian Air Force received, on March 28, what is its second and, to date, final Airbus A400M. This was officially confirmed by the European consortium through its social media channels.
The delivery of the second aircraft marks an important milestone for the strengthening of Indonesia’s strategic airlift capabilities, following the signing in 2021 of the contract with Airbus Defence and Space for the purchase of two A400M aircraft.
As of today, the Air Force of the Southeast Asian country operates various models of transport aircraft produced directly by Airbus or under license. Among these, the C212, CN235, and C295 stand out, covering the light- to medium-transport segment, as well as medical evacuation and assistance missions.
With the receipt of the second A400M, the country now covers a heavy and strategic transport segment with the support of the European consortium, a fact that makes it the tenth operator of the aircraft, joining a group made up of the air forces of Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Malaysia, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Kazakhstan.
Although no further details were provided, it is presumed that the aircraft bearing the serial “A-4002” will be integrated into the 31st Tactical Air Transport Squadron, based at Halim Perdanakusuma, just as occurred with the first aircraft, “A-4001.”
Finally, as was noted in November of last year, Indonesia is evaluating the possible integration of the new modular firefighting kit into its new A400Ms, which would allow the aircraft to be quickly converted into firefighting tankers capable of releasing up to 20,000 liters of water or retardant in a single pass.
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