Australian military keen on IPTN plane

Australian military keen on IPTN plane

JAKARTA (JP): The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is
considering buying Indonesian-made CN 235 planes to replace its
squadron of aging light transport aircraft, the Antara news
agency reported yesterday.

RAAF Chief of Staff Air Marshal L.B. Fisher told the news
agency that Australia is currently weighing between CN 235 and
the Italian-built G 222 to replace its current fleets of
Canadian-built Caribou.

The RAAF is considering rejuvenating its fleets of light
military transport aircraft in 1998 and 2000, Fisher said.

He was speaking during a reception hosted by Indonesian
Ambassador to Australia Sabam Siagian in Canberra on Thursday to
welcome the participation of the CN 235 plane at the upcoming
Melbourne Air Show next week.

PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN), the state
company which manufactures the CN 235, is sending a military
version of the CN 235, dubbed the Phoenix.

The Antara report did not say how many planes the RAAF will
need.

Fisher said the decision on which plane Australia would
purchase will be made by the Ministry of Defense, which is
currently also studying the program to overhaul the RAAF's fleets
of Hercules transport planes and Black Hawks helicopters.

Fisher said that in his opinion CN 235 and G 222 are the top
products in their class. G 222 is slightly wider but it was
designed in 1969 and might be outdated.

The CN 235 was designed in 1983.

The marshal will have a chance to see the CN 235 at work
during a flight demonstration scheduled at the RAAF base in
Fairbarn in Canberra on Friday.

At the reception, Sabam said that the promotion of the CN 235
plane in Australia is part of Indonesia's offer of cooperation
with its neighbors.

Heru Santoso, IPTN's vice commercial director, told Antara
that for the Melbourne Air Show, the company is sending the
military version of CN 235 with aircrew.

The plane has been touring Australia for the past week for a
series of flight demonstrations at various Australian military
bases, including one near Darwin in the Northern Territory,
Amberly near Brisbane, the Nowra naval base in New South Wales
and the main RAAF base in Richmond, Sydney. (emb)