PT Dirgantara Indonesia roll out Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV.

Indonesia's state-owned aerospace company Dirgantara Indonesia introduced on Monday two prototypes of the new medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV) designed for both civilian and military uses.

PT Dirgantara Indonesia MALE UAV (Picture source: PT Dirgantara Indonesia)

Aircraft Nir Awak (PUNA) type Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) which is able to fly continuously for 24 hours is an indispensable vehicle to help maintain the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia. The need for efficient air surveillance continues to grow along with the increasing threat of border areas, terrorism, smuggling, piracy, and theft of natural resources such as illegal logging and illegal fishing.

The year 2019 begins the manufacturing phase, which begins with the design structure process, the calculation of finite element method, making 3D drawings, and detailed 2D drawings done by BPPT engineers and supervised by PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero). Then proceed with the process of making tooling, molding and then fabrication with the pre-preg process with an autoclave.

This year the procurement of Flight Control System (FCS) produced in Spain is projected to be integrated into the prototype first PUNA MALE which was manufactured by PT Dirgantara Indonesia in early 2020. The integration process is carried out by BPPT engineers and PT Dirgantara Indonesia who have received training to integrate and operate the control system.

The military version of the drone will require a separate certification from the Ministry of Defense, expected by the end of 2021. The activity of integrating weapons systems on the PUNA MALE prototype was carried out starting in 2020 and it is projected to have received military product type certification in 2023.

The signing of the LoI is a follow-up to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Utilization of Resources, as well as Facilities and Infrastructure dated 30 December 2019, which was signed by BPPT with PTDI, which will then be poured into a Sale and Purchase Contract to be signed in the near future.