Air force to speed up Super Puma chopper procurement

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Air Force Chief of Staff Vice Marshal Subandrio said Tuesday the Air Force (TNI AU) will speed up procurement of Indonesian-made Super Puma helicopters to replace its S-58T Twin Pac helicopters of which readiness level has been declining.

"True, we will speed it up. We have ordered 16 (Super Puma helicopters), however, only seven of them have been delivered, including two for VIP," he said after attending a ceremony marking the transfer of post of Indonesian military (TNI) chief from Marshal Djoko Suyanto to General Djoko Santoso at the TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

Subandrio`s statement came a day after a TNI AU Twin Pac helicopter crashed in Lubuk Agung village, Gandar sub district, Pelalawan, Riau province.

The helicopter went down two kilometers from the eastern trans Sumatra highway linking Pekanbaru to Pangkalan Kerinci, eyewitnesses said.

One person was killed in the crash while nine other passengers were either seriously or slightly injured. The dead was identified as Robert Candran, a Singaporean national of Indian descent.

Subandrio said because of budget constraints to build a squadron of 16 Super Puma helicopters, the TNI AU would only buy 12 units.

The TNI AU had signed contracts with state-owned aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia for the supply of military weaponry, including 16 Super Puma NAS-332 helicopters and three CN-235 MPA planes.

Compared to Twin Pac, Super Puma equipped with a 1,877-hp Turbomeca Makila IA1 machine certainly had many advantages, he said.

In France, Super Puma helicopters were produced in different types using military version codes which were later changed into AS-532 called Cougar, he said.

However, PT Dirgantara held a licence from the Super Puma helicopter maker to produce Super Puma helicopters of AS-332C1 and AS-332L1 types only.

"Therefore, in the contracts the Air Force continues to work with France as its partner for the supply of Super Puma machines," he said.

The other advantages of a Super Puma helicopter are that it has comfortable cabin, large cargo carrying capacity, and large reverse strength and is able to fly under any weather using instrument flight rules (IFR) and to conduct combat maneuvers in any environment.