Including Southeast Asian region
In a bid to pioneer new markets including Southeast Asia, Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KAI) concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) to jointly market its helicopter ‘Surion’ in Asia, at the Indo Defense 2016 recently held in Indonesia. PTDI is a partner of KAI for developing KF-X, a Korea-developed fighter.
In December 2015, KAI and PTDI agreed to build strategic collaboration relationship, and they have been discussing specific implementation plan and ways of collaboration since then. To enhance efficiency in collaboration, the two companies also agreed to organize two operation committees – one for joint marketing (commercial) and the other for military supplies – and they will be chaired by vice presidents of the two companies. These committees will hold inaugural meeting in November at KAI office in Seoul.
Key points of the MOU are development of new markets and increase of export volume through joint marketing efforts. Under the MOU, they will jointly market ‘Surion’ helicopter of KAI and ‘CN-235’, transport airplane of PTDI, in Korea and Indonesia while analyzing potential markets and establishing product strategies.
The two partners anticipate that Indonesia will replace a part of obsolete helicopters as its government agencies and military units currently own some 200 helicopters and that they will be able to expand market to other Southeast Asian countries.
At the same time, KAI will support PTDI to bolster capabilities of repairing and maintaining advanced trainers, ‘KT-1B’ and ‘T-50’, which are being used by the Indonesian air force, and eventually to foster as an aircraft repairing center in Southeast Asia. PTDI will also create the maintenance, repair and operation (MRO) business in Indonesia.
In addition, the two companies will join forces to develop unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to export to potential markets in the Middle East and Africa as well as Southeast Asia. Among them, strong demand for UAVs is expected to come from Indonesia for surveillance of borderlines and forest fire as it has a large number of islands and vast jungles.
Through technological collaboration with KAI, PTDI has upgraded capabilities of repairing KT-1 and T-50 trainers while marketing UAVs in Indonesia. Now PTDI is fully prepared to expand aircraft and defense business in Indonesia.
“Collaboration between the two companies has just begun. Our collaboration will be expanded to overall aerospace areas, comprising development of commercial aircrafts, military aircrafts, simulators and satellites,” said Ha Sung-yong, President of KAI.
For joint development project of KF-X fighter, the two companies are working on specific design of functional parts based on results of joint meeting of launching development of systems in January and that of reviewing requirements for systems in March this year. In June, they started low-speed wind tunnel tests, and they are scheduled to hold a meeting to review functions of systems in December. And PTDI sent 70 staff developers and engineers to Korea in September and October to join in the project of developing KF-X fighter. These developers and engineers from PTDI will participate in designing and interpreting structures, and then review the shape of KF-X and requirements of IF-X, an Indonesian model of fighter. The company plans to send around 100 developers and engineers annually to Korea by 2026.
The Indo Defense 2016 exhibition was held on November 2~5, 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia, and it was taken part by 8 companies from the defense industry in Korea, including KAI.