The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has firmed an order for five N219 turboprops from Dirgantara Indonesia.

The contract involves an Indonesian intermediary firm, Setdco Group, which will acquire the aircraft from the manufacturer and then redeliver them to the DRC. Neither the final operator nor a delivery timeline were disclosed. The transaction is valued at USD66.2 million for all five aircraft.

The order is the first international for the N219, a fully Indonesian-designed and built 19-seater loosely based on the CN-212. Forty percent of all the components installed on the aircraft are manufactured domestically. The N219 is outfitted with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42 turboprop engines.

Dirgantara Indonesia said securing more international customers for the type is one of its priorities and identified Africa and Asia-Pacific as key target markets.

Despite completing the N219's type certification in 2020, Dirgantara Indonesia has yet to deliver any aircraft to operators.