The Indonesian Ministry of Defense has formalized with Airbus an order for two A400M aircraft in transport and multi-mission tank configuration. The contract, which will come into force in 2022, will bring the number of A400M operating nations to ten.
The acquisition agreement includes a complete maintenance and training package, plus a letter of intent for the acquisition of four additional A400M aircraft in the future. With the capacity to operate on short and unprepared runways, this aircraft will reinforce the air transport capabilities of Indonesia, a country with 17,000 islands, and allow its air force to improve the response to, for example, natural disasters. Malaysia’s A400M and the UK already provided humanitarian aid in 2018 following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami on the island of Sulawesi.