Indonesia may set up an assembly line for the PZL-Swidnik SW-4 helicopter as part of an initiative to bolster ties with Poland, writes Brendan Sobie.
Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) is proposing manufacturing SW-4s at its Bandung plant for the Indonesian police. IAe aims to win a contract from the police for up to 20 SW-4s and forge a licensing agreement with PZL by the end of February, when an Indonesian-Polish economic summit is due to take place.
IAe says a risk-sharing agreement is being discussed with PZL but will not be finalised unless the police accepts its proposal.
The police are evaluating light helicopter candidates to meet the second half of a requirement for roughly 40 aircraft. Last year the police ordered 18 Enstrom 480B helicopters and Enstrom had hoped to win a follow-on contract in 2004.
But the Enstrom deliveries have been plagued by delays and industry sources say politics are swinging the second phase of the procurement in favour of the Polish. Indonesia's president last year promised increased trade with Polish industry and next month's economic summit could result in several deals.
The police are also looking at acquiring up to four PZL-Swidnik W-3 VIP helicopters. IAe is also trying to sell the police five additional licence-produced Eurocopter BO-105s.
But sources say the police are reluctant to deal with IAe because of earlier problems with its existing fleet of BO-105s, which IAe maintained before it was dropped in favour of a local private company.
"We've been working on [improving the relationship]. It's not an easy task," says IAe director of commerce and business development Iwan Soemekto. "But it's the biggest market we have, so it's worth approaching them."
IAe is hoping the SW-4 will fill a void later this year when BO-105 production ends.
Source: Flight International
