First Indonesian A400M takes shape
January 24, 2025
The first aircraft (c/n 148) is scheduled for delivery in late 2025, and final assembly is underway at Airbus’ Seville plant.
Indonesia began its acquisition in 2018, when the plan was to procure two aircraft as civil assets for use in disaster relief missions, with support from the TNI-AU. Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, a major earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Indonesia in 2018, and the A400M had been the first large airlifter able to deliver heavy loads like fuel trucks and excavators as well as food, clothes and medical supplies using a damaged and short runway at Palu (in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia).
This highlighted Indonesia’s need for airlift capabilities that would be able to rapidly respond to any crisis while also being capable of operating from rough and short runways.
By 2021, the plan had changed and acquisition of the two aircraft (in multirole tanker/transport configuration) was approved within the defence budget. The contract included an option for four additional units, after Indonesia signed a Letter of Intent for the future acquisition of four additional A400M aircraft. It also included a complete maintenance and training support package.
Indonesia has a long-standing relationship with Airbus, and with its Spanish precursor, CASA, local company IPTN building the C212 and CN-235 under licence, and with the Indonesian Air Force operating both types. The A400M contract became effective in 2022, and brought the total number of A400M operators to ten nations, further expanding the A400M footprint in the Asia-Pacific region.
The A400M will augment and bolster Indonesia’s dwindling Hercules fleet, especially in the air-to-air refuelling role, which is currently undertaken by a single KC-130B aircraft.
At the time of the original contract signature, Michael Schoellhorn, the CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said: “The A400M offers outstanding capabilities to Indonesia, providing its air force with the perfect platform to deliver large and heavy loads into remote areas and multiplying its airpower projection thanks to reliable aerial refuelling capabilities.”
Prabowo Subianto, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia greeted the acquisition by saying: “The A400M is a truly multi-role platform and will greatly enhance the Indonesian Air Force’s tactical air-to-air capabilities. This aircraft will play a key role in other key missions including paratrooping and heavy cargo transportation. We are also looking at additional A400M acquisition in the near term, with future A400M developments such as firefighting an important capability we are exploring jointly with Airbus. The A400M will become a national asset and the cornerstone for Human Assistance and Disaster Response missions, beyond its tactical and air-to-air capabilities.”
The A400M can carry heavy and outsize loads across strategic distances, deliver these into tactical locations, while offering an added aerial refuelling capability. The A400M can fly slow or fast and at high or extremely low altitudes, making it well suited to refuelling diverse receivers, from helicopters to fast jet fighters using two underwing refuelling pods. An A400M operating in the transport role can be rapidly reconfigured as a tanker, and can itself also be refuelled in flight.
