Indonesia recieves 1st Airbus A400M and plans to triple its order
November 3, 2025
Airbus has delivered the first of two A400M military transports to Indonesia as the nation says it is considering tripling its order for the type. The delivery comes after Indonesia’s A400M completed its maiden flight in August.
Airbus delivered the first A400M Atlas to Indonesia
Today, 3 November, Airbus shared that it had delivered the first A400M Atlas strategic/tactical airlifter to the Indonesian Air Force. The handover took place at Halim Air Force Base in Jakarta after the aircraft flew from Seville in Spain.
This is one of two A400Ms ordered by Indonesia in 2021, with the second on track to be delivered in 2026. Airbus welcomed Indonesia as the A400M’s tenth operator, noting the aircraft is well-suited to the country’s “geographic complexity.”
The turboprop A400M is the largest military transport aircraft in production in Europe and is designed to bridge the gap between the smaller Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules and the larger Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.
Airbus says the A400M delivery marks “a major milestone” in Indonesia’s efforts to modernise its military transport capabilities.
The aircraft has been designed with an emphasis on multi-role capabilities. Indonesia’s example was delivered configured for cargo, troop transport, MEDEVAC, and humanitarian missions.
Airbus Defence and Space delivered the first #A400M to the Indonesia Ministry of Defence, marking a major milestone in the country's efforts to modernise its military transport capabilities. The heavy tactical airlift will be operated by the Indonesian Air Force. 🇮🇩
— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) November 3, 2025
Read more:… pic.twitter.com/ThTTyDwNew
Indonesia is exploring integrating the newly developed A400M firefighting kit for both of its aircraft. The kit allows the A400M to transform into a water bomber, dropping up to 20,000 litres at a time to help control wildfires. The A400M can also serve in an aerial refuelling role.
Indonesia says it’s considering purchasing more A400Ms
Reuters reported Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto stated on Wednesday that the country is considering starting negotiations to purchase four more A400Ms. This would bring the fleet to six.
Subianto made the comments to reporters after a ceremony to inspect the first A400M delivered by Airbus. He did not provide any other details.
Indonesia also operates the C-130J Super Hercules, the C-130 Hercules, the CASA C-295, and the CASA/IPTN CN-235 military transports.
The A400M is benefiting from being the largest Western transport aircraft currently in production. Outside of China and Russia, its closest in-production competitors are the much smaller Super Hercules and the Embraer C-390 Millennium.
Watch as the first #A400M for Indonesia 🇮🇩 lifts off for its maiden flight 🛫
— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) August 1, 2025
During the flight, the aircraft performed a range of manoeuvres to validate the aircraft’s handling and evaluate key systems. We’re already working on the second A400M for the Indonesian Air Force in… pic.twitter.com/2o8d18pwEr
While there is interest from some countries to purchase more C-17s, Boeing ended production in 2015. Separately, Radia is floating the idea of producing the extra-large cargo volume WindRunner for the US Air Force.
Indonesia’s military aircraft shopping spree
Indonesian President Prabowo was previously a special forces commander and then defence minister. He became the Indonesian president in 2024, and since then, Indonesia’s purchase of military equipment has increased.
While most countries try to limit their fighter jet types to one or two to minimise the logistical burden, Indonesia seems to be on a quest to buy every fighter jet on the market. This is partly due to its non-aligned status and not wanting to be too reliant on any one supplier.
In October, it was announced that Indonesia would be purchasing 42 Chinese J-10C fighter jets. Indonesia has also planned to order around 50 KF-21 Boramae, is purchasing 24 F-15EX fighter jets and 42 Dassault Rafales. More recently, it has signed a contract to purchase 48 upcoming Turkish KAAN fighter jets.
It tried to purchase the F-35, but was rebuffed by the US and signed a deal to purchase Russian Su-35s, although that had to be cancelled due to US sanctions.
🇮🇩🇮🇹 #Indonesia approves $450 million loan to acquire ex-Italian aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldihttps://t.co/rrAWtbM43k
— Navy Recognition (@NavyRecognition) September 20, 2025
Indonesia currently operates Su-27/30s, F-16s, KA-50s, BAE Hawks, and Embraer EMB-314s. It could soon operate the AV-8B Harrier II jet as it is negotiating to purchase the old Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi aircraft carrier, although it’s unclear if the jets are included.
Featured Image: Airbus
