PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) will soon deliver another CN235 aircraft to Senegal, which will use it for maritime patrol.
The latest CN235 for Senegal was rolled out by PTDI on 4 August and is equipped with a forward-looking infrared sensor ball under the nose and belly-mounted radar for the maritime patrol role. In August 2017 it was reported that Senegal had ordered a single CN235-200 for maritime patrol through AD Trade Belgium and in mid-2019 Indonesian Aerospace was busy constructing a CN235-220 MPA for Senegal. Photos of this aircraft, with construction number N069, emerged in early 2020. It is believed this is the aircraft (with registration AX-2348) that will soon be delivered.
The Senegalese Air Force previously acquired two second hand CN235s, also both built in Indonesia. These were originally commercial models flown by Indonesia’s Merpati Nusantara Airlines, but later changed to military CN-235-220M configuration and delivered in November 2010 and August 2012 under a $13 million contract. One of the CN235s was later sold to Guinea, reports Air Forces Daily.