SE Asian Governments Keen On CN-295 Aircraft, DI Says
By Yuli Krisna on 8:27 pm July 15, 2013.
Bandung. The Ministry of Defense’s efforts to promote the CN-295 military transportation aircraft may soon prove fruitful, with several Southeast Asian nations expressing interest.
Supra Dekanto, director of the aircraft’s state-owned producer Dirgantara Indonesia, said Vietnam and Myanmar were among the countries that showed interest in the CN-295 while several other countries are scheduled for talks with the Ministry of Defense.
“The Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand have shown their interest but it will have to be followed up,” Supra said.
Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government also planned to order 16 CN-295 units to form a squadron. “Our aim is to build a light transporter squadron using the CN-295,” he said.
The order is being produced at the Airbus Military factory and will this month arrive at Dirgantara’s factory, where finishing touches such as painting and works on the planes’ interiors will be done, Supra said, adding that the production process so far is only 10 percent complete.
“We are working on the empennage [tail stabilization] as well as the vertical and horizontal tail, step by step. Next year we will be making the rear fuselage and the empennage starting from the seventh plane,” Supra explained.
The CN-295 has also attracted interest from regional governments, including the provincial administration of East Kalimantan.
East Kalimantan Governor Awang Faroek Ishak said he planned to order the CN-295 planes to support the air travel system in the region. “In East Kalimantan, there are 22 airports but a lack of transportation,” he said in Bandung on Saturday.
According to Awang, three airstrips near the Malaysia border are being extended to allow planes such as the CN-295 to land.
SE Asian Governments Keen On CN-295 Aircraft, DI Says - The Jakarta Globe