Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) (), is an Indonesian aerospace company involved in aircraft design and the development and manufacture of civilian and military regional commuter aircraft, and a subsidiary of state-owned electronics manufacturer . The company was formerly known as (IPTN; ). It was expanded from a research and industrial facility under the auspices of the

Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force (, sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF) is the Air force, aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The Indonesian Air Force is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is headed by the Chief of Staff of th ...

, namely or ''Nurtanio Aviation Industry Institute''. Established in 1976 as a state owned company, it has developed its capability as an aircraft manufacturer and diversified into other areas, such as telecommunication, automotive, maritime, information technology, oil & gas, control & automation, military, simulation technology, industrial turbine, and engineering services.

History

Pioneering

Nurtanio Pringgoadisuryo 2003 Indonesia stamp

Though aircraft production in Indonesia existed before independence in 1945, the National Aviation Industry was pioneered in 1946 at

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

by the formation of ''Planning and Construction Bureau'' () within the

. Wiweko Soepono, Nurtanio Pringgoadisurjo, and J. Sumarsono, opened a simple workshop at

Magetan Magetan Regency is a regency ''(kabupaten)'' of East Java Province, Indonesia. It is an inland regency, and lies in the west of the province, adjoining Central Java Province. It covered an area of 688.84 km2 and had a population of 620,442 at the ...

, near

Madiun Madiun () is a city in the western part of East Java, Indonesia, known for its agricultural center. The city has been administratively separate from the surrounding Madiun Regency since the formation of the two bodies in 1950, but the city remain ...

. With basic materials, gliders were designed and built – Zogling, NWG-1 (Nurtanio Wiweko Glider) among others. In 1948, a motorised aircraft, WEL-X was built by Wiweko Soepono using a

Harley Davidson Harley may refer to: People * Harley (given name) * Harley (surname) Places * Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada * Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada * Harley, Shropshire, England * Harley, South Yorkshire, England * Harley Street, i ...

engine. The small craft was registered as RI-X. This era marked the rise of several

aeromodelling A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typically for display, research, or amusement. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed st ...

clubs. The war for independence, however, halted all progress until 1953. In that year, ''The Experimental Section'' () was organised. Consisting of only 15 personnel, led by Nurtanio Pringgoadisurjo, The team built and tested three prototypes of a single-seat all metal aircraft at Andir Airport (Later renamed

Husein Sastranegara International Airport Husein Sastranegara Airport (, Sundanese: ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮁ ᮅᮓᮛ ᮄᮔ᮪ᮒᮨᮁᮔᮞᮤᮇᮔᮜ᮪ ᮠᮥᮞᮨᮄᮔ᮪ ᮞᮞ᮪ᮒᮢᮔᮨᮌᮛ) is an airport in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. It is located within the city and 2 ...

) in

Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...

. On 24 April 1957, The ''Experimental Section'' graduated into The ''Inspection, Trial, and Production Sub-Depot'' () based on Decision Letter of Indonesian Air Force Chief of Staff number 68. In 1958, a light training aircraft prototype named '' Belalang 89'', or ''Grasshopper 89'', was flown. The design was later produced as . Five were built and used for military training. Within the same year, a sport plane, " Kunang 25", was also built and flown.

Preparation

On 1 August 1960, by the order of the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force (order #488), The ''Aviation Industry Preparation Agency'' was to be formed to establish the Indonesian aviation industry as part of national strategies on national industrial production. By 16 December 1961, the new body, known as LAPIP (), was actively negotiating for technological transfers and contracts. LAPIP was able to secure a joint licensing and production contract with the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

(through the latter's foreign trade monopoly, the Complete Industrial Facilities Export Centre (CEKOP)). Within the same year, Indonesia was producing the

PZL-104 Wilga PZL-104 Wilga ('' golden oriole'') is a Polish short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) civil aviation utility aircraft designed and originally manufactured by PZL Warszawa-Okęcie, and later by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), who ...

, locally named the . 44 were manufactured for agriculture, transport, and aero club purposes. In 1965, the ''Aircraft Industry Project Implementation Command'' (; ) and the Independent Aircraft Industry National Company () were formed to expand and formulate specific uses of the young aviation industry. Within the same timeline, Aviation Studies were promoted in the country's top universities. One of the first schools was founded within the machine department of the engineering faculty of the

Bandung Institute of Technology The Bandung Institute of Technology (; , abbreviated as ITB) is a public research university located in Bandung, Indonesia. It has produced many notable leaders in science, engineering, politics, business, academia, and culture. ITB is one of th ...

by Oetarjo Diran and Liem Keng Kie. In September 1974,

Pertamina PT Pertamina (Persero) is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation, headquartered in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of ''Pertamin'' (established 1961) and ''Permina'' (established in 1957). In 2020, the ...

's Advanced Technology Division signed a license contract with MBB and CASA for producing

Bölkow Bo 105 The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform ae ...

and CASA C.212 Aviocar.

Nurtanio Aircraft Industry

On 26 April 1976, mandated by Government Act No. 15, in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nurtanio was officially established with BJ. Habibie as the President and CEO. The infrastructure was completed and inaugurated on 23 August 1976 by President

Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

. The new body was a merger between Nurtanio Aviation Industry Institution () and

's Advanced Technology Division. The name 'Nurtanio' is a tribute to Nurtanio Pringgoadisuryo, one of the first aviation pioneers in Indonesia, who designed the Sikumbang, an indigenous all metal aircraft (maiden flight: 1 August 1954). As a result of his death caused by a flight training accident on 1 March 1966, the ''Aviation Industry Preparation Agency'' was then renamed ''Nurtanio Aviation Industry Institution LLC'' (). Initially, IPTN manufactured the

NBO 105 NBO may refer to: *National Bank of Oman * National Bank Open *Natural bond orbital, a model within quantum chemistry * Network of Buddhist Organisations *Network byte order * Niobium monoxide (NbO) * Non-binding opinion (disambiguation) *Northolt ...

(

MBB Bo 105 The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform ...

) under license from MBB, followed by the NC 212 (

CASA C-212 Aviocar The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 was ...

), under license by CASA.

Nusantara Aircraft Industry

On 11 October 1985, the name was changed to the or IPTN. Nusantara signifies the Indonesian 17,000 island

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

. The exclusion of "Nurtanio" from IPTN was due to some highly questionable accusations. One of the allegations was a personal use of company's letterhead by Nurtanio's family to appropriate some IPTN stocks. None was proven true.

Dirgantara Indonesia / Indonesian Aerospace

Following the

1997 Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide eco ...

, a major restructuring program was implemented. At its peak, in 2004, the Indonesian Aerospace reduced its payroll from 9670 to 3720. Furthermore, the 18 business divisions were reorganised into the following: * Aircraft * Aircraft Services * Aerostructure * Defense * Engineering Services The restructuring focused on new business goals, downsizing and adaptation of man-power according to available workloads, and a pinpoint market targeting along with a concentrated business mission. The IPTN was re-introduced as PT Dirgantara Indonesia (abbreviated DI) or Indonesian Aerospace (abbreviated IAe). IAe was officially inaugurated by the President of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Abdurrahman Wahid Abdurrahman Wahid ( ; né ad-Dakhil, 7 September 1940 – 30 December 2009), more colloquially known as Gus Dur (), was an Indonesian politician and Islam in Indonesia, Islamic Kyai, religious leader who served as the fourth president of Indone ...

, in

on 24 August 2000. On 4 July 2011, Indonesia's government said it will inject Rp.2 trillion ($234 million) to Indonesian Aerospace to keep the debt-ridden firm afloat with a view to making a joint venture with

EADS Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...

. Before injection, the amount of unpaid debt to the government was Rp.1.1 trillion ($129 million).

Services

* Engineering work packages; design, development, testing * Manufacturing subcontracts * Aircraft Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) * Engine Maintenance and Overhaul (MRO)

Facilities

Indonesian Aerospace covers an area of 86.98 ha. The backbone of the production is sustained by 232 high tech operations. Apart from these, there are other minor high-tech facilities spread over various assembly lines, laboratories, and service & maintenance units. They are located mainly in

Products

Indonesian Aerospace and its precursors

(PT ''Dirgantara Indonesia'' (DI) – (IAe) Indonesian Aerospace)

AURI

( – Indonesian Air Force Research, Development, and Production Depot) * NU-200 Sikumbang * NU-225 Sikumbang (X-09) * NU-260 Sikumbang (X-02) * Belalang 85 (X-03) – converted

Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

* Belalang 90 – converted

* Kunang 25 (X-04) * Super Kunang 35 (X-05 and X-07) * Kindjeng 150 (X-06) * B-8m Kolentang – based on

Bensen B-8 The Bensen B-8 is a small, single-seat autogyro developed in the United States in the 1950s. Although the original manufacturer stopped production in 1987, plans for homebuilders are still available as of 2019. Its design was a refinement of t ...

LIPNUR

(''Lembaga Industri Penerbangan Nurtanio'' – Nurtanio Aviation Industry Institution) * LIPNUR Gelatik (License-built

) * LIPNUR LT-200 Angkatang (License-built

Pazmany PL-2 Pazmany might refer to: * Péter Pázmány (1570–1637), Hungarian theologian and cardinal * Ladislao Pazmany (1923–2006), aviation engineer * Pazmany Aircraft Corporation, manufacturer of small aircraft ** Pazmany PL-1 ** Pazmany PL-4 ** Pazma ...

) * LIPNUR Belalang * LIPNUR Kindjeng * LIPNUR Kolentang * LIPNUR Kumbang *

LIPNUR Kunang __NOTOC__ The LIPNUR Kunang was a single-seat sports aircraft built in Indonesia that first flew in 1958 in the hope that it would inspire interest in aviation amongst Indonesian youth. The only example that was built was subsequently grounded. It ...

* LIPNUR Kunang-kunang * LIPNUR Manyang *

LIPNUR Sikumbang __NOTOC__ The LIPNUR Sikumbang () was a low-wing monoplane of mixed construction built in Indonesia in 1954 as a COIN and anti-guerrilla-warfare aircraft. Of conventional configuration, it had fixed tricycle undercarriage and seated the pilot und ...

* LIPNUR Super Kunang I * LIPNUR Super Kunang II

IAe Aircraft production

CASA/IPTN CN-235 The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN. It is operated as both a regional airliner and military transport; its primary military roles ...

civil, military, and maritime version (Joint development with CASA under ''Aircraft Technology (Airtech)''). * Indonesian Aerospace CN-295 (Variant of C-295 made by Indonesian Aerospace). *

Indonesian Aerospace N-219 The Indonesian Aerospace N-219 Nurtanio is a light STOL utility aircraft developed by Indonesian Aerospace. Its maiden flight was in August 2017 and according to Indonesian Aerospace's CEO at the time, the plane was developed without any foreig ...

is a 19-seat commercial

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

aircraft. First flew in August 2017, it was certified by Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation in December 2020. IAe (PT DI) has received 257 orders of N-219 from abroad and domestic. * Indonesian Aerospace N-245 is a planned 50-seat commercial

aircraft. In mid 2018, IAe (PT DI) completed wind tunnel testing and finalized the design. * Indonesian Aerospace

IPTN N-250 The IPTN N-250 was a turboprop regional airliner designed by Indonesian firm IPTN (''Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara'') (now Indonesian Aerospace). This aircraft was IPTN's first major effort to win the market share of the regional turboprop ...

is a 50-seat commercial turboprop aircraft. * space Elang Hitam is a

medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle A medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle flies at an altitude window of 10,000 to 30,000 feet (3,000–9,000 m) for extended durations of time, typically 24 to 48 hours.https://www.leonardocompany.com/en/products/falco-xplorer Th ...

currently being developed. ;Joint Development & production aircraft *

KAI KF-X The KAI KF-21 Boramae (Korean: KF-21 보라매; KF-21 Fighting Hawk; formerly known as KF-X) is a South Korean-led fighter aircraft development program with the initial goal of producing multirole fighters for the South Korean Air Force. The ...

, Joint Development South Korea & Indonesia Government, with development cost sharing consisted of 20 percent Indonesian Government and 80 percent South Korea. KAI and IAe (PTDI) are appointed as System Integrator.

is a multirole fighter, more advanced than F-16 E/F but still below

F-35 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic warf ...

. Currently in prototype development phase.S. Korea Weighs Designs for KF-X
- Defensenews.com, 10 February 2014 * TAI TF-X, Joint Development Turkiye & Indonesia Government, in meeting with Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

on 10 April 2025. ;License-built aircraft * NAS 330J, a licensed built

Aérospatiale Puma Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace and defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation and SEREB. The company was headqua ...

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

, first made in 1981.The Emerging Technological Trajectory of the Pacific Rim by Denis Fred Simon, page 193. * NAS 332, a licensed built

Eurocopter Super Puma The Airbus Helicopters H215 (formerly Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma) is a four-bladed, twin-engined, medium-sized, utility helicopter developed and initially produced by French aerospace company Aérospatiale. It has been subsequently manufactur ...

, first made in 1983. *

Eurocopter EC725 The Eurocopter EC725 Caracal, now called Airbus Helicopters H225M, is a long-range tactical transport military helicopter developed from the Eurocopter AS532 Cougar for military use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 28 seated ...

, 6

s for

. * NB 412, a licensed built

Bell 412 The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. It is a twin-turbine helicopter that has been ...

made since 1984. *

, a licensed built

, discontinued in July 2011 after 123 units production since 1976. * NBK 117, a licensed built

MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 The MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 is a twin-engined light Utility helicopter, utility–transport helicopter. It was jointly developed and manufactured by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) of Germany and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki of Japan. MBB ...

, first produced in 1981. *

Eurocopter Fennec The Eurocopter, later Airbus Helicopters AS550 Fennec (now H125M) and AS555 Fennec 2 are lightweight, multipurpose military helicopters manufactured by Eurocopter Group (now Airbus Helicopters). Based on the AS350 Ecureuil and AS355 Ecureuil ...

as replacement of NBO 105 production line. *

Eurocopter Ecureuil Eurocopter Écureuil may refer to one of three related helicopter designs, each of which was originally manufactured by Aérospatiale (later part of Eurocopter Group, now Airbus Helicopters). * Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil The Airbus Helicop ...

as replacement of NBO 105 production line. * NC-212, a licensed built

aircraft.

IAe Armaments

* FFAR 2.75 inch rocket under

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

's license. *

SUT torpedo The AEG SUT 264 is a German 21 inch heavyweight wire-guided torpedo produced by Atlas Elektronik which entered service in 1967. Description SUT stands for Surface and Underwater Target. It is a dual-purpose weapon that can be launched from su ...

. * NDL-40 Ground-to-Ground Rocket Multi Launcher. * R-Han 122 rocket munition. * RN01-SS

Development projects

Indonesian Aerospace has plans to construct the N-245, designed to carry 50 passengers for about 400 kilometres in remote areas or where passenger demand is low. The design is based primarily on that of the

CN-235 The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN. It is operated as both a regional airliner and military transport; its primary military roles ...

, with body shape and tail modifications. The development cost of the aircraft has thus far reached $150 million, with an expected

break even point Break-even (or break even), often abbreviated as B/E in finance (sometimes called point of equilibrium), is the point of balance making neither a profit nor a loss. It involves a situation when a business makes just enough revenue to cover its tot ...

of 50–70 aircraft sales. The aircraft is meant as a market competitor to the

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aér ...

and Bombardier Dash 8 Q300.

References

External links

*
IPTN Profile from Industry Department
*

{{authority control Defend ID Aircraft manufacturers of Indonesia Aviation in Indonesia Companies based in Bandung Technology companies established in 1976 Indonesian brands Indonesian companies established in 1976 Aerospace companies of Asia Defense companies of Indonesia Manufacturing companies established in 1976 Helicopter manufacturers