20 Aron Ekranoplane For TNI-AL and BAKORKAMLA Several South Korean media have reported that the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) and Coast Guard (BAKORKAMLA?) would be interested in acquiring up to 20 Aron M-50 Wing in Gorund effect (WIG) aircraft following an initial order of 2 by the Government. The Aron M-50 would be procured in littoral combat configuration. Equipped with Optronics systems and a small naval radar, an armed Aron M50 can fire small anti-ship missiles or guided rockets to attack larger ships. In its basic configuration, the WIG craft is capable of reaching a top speed of 200 Km/h and has a range of 800 Km. While Aron might be the latest generation of Wing In Ground effect (WIG) aircraft, some observers questined whether procuring the Aron M-50 might effect the indigenous Belibis WIG which is under development by several agencies in Indonesia. In 2002, the Indonesian Technological Research and Application Body ( Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi- BPPT) together with Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS) have jointly come up with a conceptual design to study the WIG technology. In 2004, a scaled remote control prototype with V-Tail configuration has been tested. A two seater variant with T-Tail configuration of the Belibis was concurrently developed by BPPT, ITB, ITS as well as IAe. Three years later in 2007, a pair of V-Tail two seater prototypes were developed. Nevertheless, despite the efforts made by these Indonesian agencies, in 2011, the program was halted. -April 2013
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 17:40:21 +0000
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