September 23rd, 2026
PTDI Reveals Plans to Develop Air Ambulances
Jakarta – PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero), or PTDI, is currently developing an air ambulance. PTDI Vice President of Business Development & Marketing Heber M. F. Panjaitan said the initiative is still in the assessment stage.
Nevertheless, the company believes that the NC212 is an aircraft that can be flexibly adapted for air ambulance purposes.
“We are also exploring the development of air ambulances. We see that the NC212 platform is quite flexible for use as an air ambulance because loading and unloading patients is easier,” he told detikcom during the TNI Fair at the National Monument (Monas), Central Jakarta, on Saturday (September 19, 2026).
According to him, the development of the air ambulance could be carried out in collaboration with other parties, including the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).
“We can collaborate with BRIN or other parties. The platform could be the 212, the N219, or even the RM200,” he explained.
Previously, President Prabowo Subianto said that the government would develop air ambulances using helicopters and small aircraft to assist people in areas that are difficult to reach.
Prabowo made the statement while delivering the Government’s Statement on the Bill on the 2027 State Budget (APBN) and its Financial Note at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on August 14, 2026.
“The state must be as close as possible to the people. Therefore, we will develop air ambulances using helicopters and small aircraft that can land on grass fields, sand, and rivers, so that no one in our country is left without access to evacuation when they are ill,” Prabowo said.
Prabowo said that some people still have to travel for up to seven to nine hours to access healthcare services. According to him, this situation also makes it difficult for women who are about to give birth to receive medical assistance.
“That is why we need to find breakthroughs. One solution is air ambulances, and eventually, there will also be flying medical teams,” he said.
The idea was subsequently responded to by BRIN by further developing the ecosystem of the N219 aircraft and its amphibious variant, the N219A, to support the vision of air ambulances and medical logistics.
BRIN Head Arif Satria said that the N219 was developed in collaboration with PTDI and has Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capabilities, allowing it to operate from relatively short runways. Meanwhile, the N219A is being developed as an amphibious variant that can operate in water areas.
With these characteristics, the N219 and N219A are projected to support medical evacuation, particularly for communities in island regions and areas that are difficult to reach by land.
Source: https://finance.detik.com/industri/d-8670423/ptdi-bocorkan-rencana-bikin-ambulans-udara/amp