Indonesia manufactures presidential aircraft

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung, West Java

State-owned aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia handed over two CN-235 planes to South Korea, the last aircraft of an eight- plane package ordered by Korea's airforce under a US$130 million contract signed in October 1997.

Dirgantara president Edwin Sudarmo said Thursday that his company had previously sent six planes in three consignments, one in December last year and in February and April this year.

The previous six planes were designed for military purposes, while the last two were designed for use by the president.

One of the planes would be used by the president for domestic flights, Edwin said.

"Aside from it being equipped with a luxury interior and communication technology, some parts of the body of the planes are bullet-proof."

The two planes, captained jointly by pilots from the company and the South Korean Airforce, will land in three different countries before arriving in Seoul.

During the ceremony, it was also revealed that the company had received orders for similar planes from several countries.

"To date, we've received orders for presidential planes from three nations (including Korea), namely Saudi Arabia and Malaysia," Edwin said, adding that Pakistan was also interested.

This should show that the Indonesian made airplanes have gained increasing trust from within the international community, which is encouraging, Edwin said.

The Indonesian government itself usually orders presidential planes from western countries. Indonesia currently uses a British Aerospace-made plane.