Airbus Defence and Space officially delivered Indonesia's first A400M heavy tactical transport aircraft on November 3, 2025, at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in Jakarta, marking the Southeast Asian nation's entry as the tenth operator of the advanced military airlifter, with Indonesian Air Force Chief Air Marshal M. Tonny Harjono and TNI Commander General Agus Subianto welcoming the arrival alongside President Prabowo Subianto, who revealed plans to negotiate for four additional units.
The A400M, designated A-4001 and bearing Air Squadron 31 markings, departed from Airbus's Seville facility in Spain on November 1 with stops in Dubai and Medan before its Jakarta arrival, representing the first of two aircraft ordered in 2021 with the second expected in 2026, according to Karl-Heinz Grossman, Head of International at Airbus Defence and Space, who highlighted the aircraft's suitability for Indonesia's geographically complex archipelago operations.
The newly delivered transport can carry a maximum payload of 37 tonnes including helicopters, vehicles, and relief supplies, with the capability to fly 2,400 nautical miles carrying 30 tonnes—enough to cover the entire Indonesian archipelago from Jakarta—while also functioning as a multi-role aerial refueling platform compatible with Indonesia's incoming Rafale fighters through its underwing drogue-and-hose refueling pods.
Indonesia is studying the integration of Airbus's newly developed roll-on/roll-off modular firefighting kit that can rapidly convert the A400M into a water bomber capable of dropping 20,000 liters of retardant in a single pass, significantly enhancing the nation's wildfire response capabilities across its widespread and often inaccessible terrain.
The aircraft is configured for cargo, troop transport, medical evacuation, and humanitarian missions with the ability to operate on short unpaved runways, strengthening Indonesia's strategic air mobility capabilities alongside its existing fleet of C-130 Hercules variants and CN-235 aircraft for both military operations and disaster relief across the sprawling island nation.
