The Aviocar aircraft found a manufacturing home in Bandung

The C-212 Aviocar originated as a solution to a specific logistical problem for the Spanish Air Force in the late 1960s. The military required a versatile replacement for outdated piston-engine transports capable of handling medical services and paratrooper roles. The resulting twin-engine, STOL-capable aircraft proved so reliable that it eventually captured the interest of the commercial market.

A significant shift occurred in 1975 when the Indonesian company IPTN secured a license to produce the aircraft in Bandung. Because the C-212 was designed with relative simplicity, it served as an ideal candidate for local assembly. CASA sent a delegation of technicians to Bandung to train personnel, establishing a production line that eventually produced 95 NC212 units by the year 2000.

This partnership deepened over the decades as a commitment to growth. By 2013, Airbus agreed to transfer production fully to Indonesian Aerospace (IAe), making Indonesia the single-source manufacturer for certain models. Production at the Seville facility slowed to only four aircraft in two years, and in December 2012, the final aircraft assembled in Seville was delivered to the Vietnam Coast Guard. By the time the line shut down, it had produced 477 aircraft for 92 operators. The Bandung facility continued to evolve the design, producing improved versions like the NC212i.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons