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| EH101/AW-101 Merlin |
By: Mike Yeo
MELBOURNE, Australia — The strange saga of Indonesia’s acquisition of the Leonardo AW101 helicopter has taken a stranger twist, with photos showing the first delivered aircraft in a hangar surrounded by police tape.
The Indonesian military is investigating how a deal that should have been cancelled ended up with the delivery of the first helicopter in early February, with the new chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force, Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, telling local media the fate of the helicopter has yet to be decided.
Tjahjanto added that the helicopter is currently stored in a hangar at the Indonesian capital of Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma air base pending the completion of the investigation.
The Air Force had requested the acquisition of three AW101s for Very Very Important Person duties, or VVIP, in November 2015, even though Indonesia’s Defense Industry Act obliges the military use locally manufactured defense equipment whenever possible.
State-owned aerospace company PT Dirgantara Indonesia manufactures components for the Airbus H215 Super Puma and H225 Caracal helicopters and has carried out final assembly of both types for the Indonesian armed forces, although then-Air Force Chief of Staff Air Marshall Agus Supriatna had said the late delivery of Super Pumas in 2014 and its inability to meet Air Force requirements disqualified the company from supplying the VVIP helicopters.
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