Indonesia collects seven Nomad planes

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): Seven of the 20 Nomad planes ordered by the Indonesian Navy from Australia arrived at El Tari airport here yesterday.

The planes were handed over in the northern Australian town of Darwin to an Indonesian delegation led by Navy chief Vice Admiral Arief Kushariadi.

Arief then led the 3.5 hour flight from Darwin to Kupang.

"The planes are in an excellent condition but we need to change the colors," he told journalists shortly after descending the aging plane.

Indonesia bought 14 N-22s and six N-24s for maritime surveillance. The Navy has operated 18 Nomads before, 16 are still in operation.

Another seven Nomads will be delivered in April and the remaining six in June, Arief said.

The planes will be serviced and repainted in Surabaya before they formally join the Navy fleet. Two of the N-24s will be used as VIP transport planes, he said.

"The number of aircraft patrolling the vast Indonesian territories is just too small now," he said. "We definitely need more planes."

The Indonesian government has refused to disclose the cost of the used planes.

Quoting a defense source, AFP reported that Indonesia paid less than 10 million Australian dollars (US$8 million) for the fleet adding it was "a very good, cheap buy".

Canberra has a standing agreement to help maintain the existing fleet of Nomads, with three Australian engineers already based in the East Java town of Surabaya, the defense source said.

Made in Australia in the 1970s, the twin-engine turboprop Nomads were used by the Australian military as heavy transport and support aircraft, but were retired from the Australian Defense Force in 1995 after becoming unsuitable for continued military use. (yac/pan)