IPTN has abandoned its attempt to sell a variant of the CN-235, the CN-235-330 Phoenix, to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to meet the service's requirement for a tactical transport intended to succeed its de Havilland DHC-4 Caribous.
The Indonesian aircraft manufacturer is blaming the withdrawal on International Monetary Fund (IMF) financing restrictions which forced it to look for an alternative to state aid to finance the project.
When the IMF bailed out the Indonesian economy, it also blocked state aid for the country's aerospace sector.
IPTN was unable to assemble an alternative finance package to meet the RAAF's request for tender (RFT) within the stated time scale. IPTN says the RAAF also refused to give it an extension to meet the RFT while it tried to stitch together financial backing for its bid.
Shortlisted contenders for the RAAF programme - Light Tactical Airlift Capability (LTAC) Project Air 5190 - were Alenia/Lockheed Martin with the C-27J Spartan, CASA with both theCN-295 and CN-235 and IPTN with the Phoenix variant of the CN-235.
"The refusal of the RAAF to grant an extension to the RFT meant that IPTN could not formulate a recovery plan and develop a credible RFT response," says IPTN. "Accordingly, IPTN took the difficult decision to withdraw from the bidding."
Source: Flight International
