Indonesian Armed Forces Purchases 9 Bell 412 EPI Helicopters Worth 258 Billion Rupiahs from PTDI

SUMUTkota.com, Jakarta - The Army bought 9 Bell 412 EPI helicopters for US $ 283 million or equivalent to Rp.258 billion. This helicopter is manufactured by PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) in collaboration with Bell Textron.

"The US $ 183 million is complete, for nine units. So we contract with the TNI, first there is a helicopter package, two training packages for pilots and mechanics. Then there are technical publications and there are spare parts including weapons, and bullets from Pindad," said Vice President of Aircraft Sales of PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) Ibnu Bintarto at Shangri-La, Central Jakarta, Wednesday, November 27, 2019. "The source of funds is from export credit, there is funding from abroad."

Today Bell and PTDI celebrate the achievement of the delivery of the 70th aircraft from Bell to PTDI. The aircraft was the Bell 412EPI helicopter, which was one of nine aircraft orders from the Indonesian Army earlier this year.

The Bell 412EPI adopts 2x Pratt & Whitney PT6T-9 Twin Pac machines, compared to the previous series Bell-412 EP (Enhanced Performance) which uses 2x Pratt & Whitney PT6T-3D engines. In the official Bell Helicopter Textron website, PT6T-9 has a 15 percent greater take-off power than other types of Bell-412 engines.

According to Ibnu, to get to the Army AD must go through several processes, first there is a contract signature, secondly there is a process that must be passed that is effective contract. Because, he said, there was a process from the Ministry of Finance to negotiate and contract lenders or loan budgets.

"This is usually a duration of 6 months to 1 year. Sign our contract December 28, 2018, then sign a loan agreement between the bank and the new Ministry of Finance on November 15, 2019 and then be processed and budgeted at the end of December, which is marked with an advance, it has only been calculated the argument is the T0, "said Ibnu.

According to PTDI VP Business Development and Marketing Gatot Mulya Pribadi there are currently 7 units of Bell 412EPI helicopters that are ready to be shipped. But because the process is gradual, only 2 units have arrived at PTDI.

"Industrial cooperation between PTDI and Bell began in 1982 or more than 37 years ago. This collaboration began with production under the license license component of the Bell 412 helicopter to support the advancement of the Indonesian defense industry," Gatot said.

Currently PTDI has delivered 448 aircraft to the buyer. Of these, 253 are helicopters, 63 of which are the Bell 412 series.

Under the contract, PTDI will receive 9 helicopters from Bell and will then be adjusted before sending to the Army, and to date PTDI has received 2 of 9 helicopters.

"PTDI produced the tail section of the Bell 412 helicopter. In 2009 the cooperation of PTDI and Bell increased with the trust from Bell to PTDI to produce and become the center of Bell 412 helicopter customization, the latest series, the Bell 412 EPI, we have signed an agreement," said Gatot .

In 2012, PDTI and Bell signed an Industrial and Commercial Agreement (ICA) and Certified Maintanence Center (CMC). The agreement was extended in 2016, allowing the company to expand their support and services in Indonesia for Bell helicopter operators.