Indo Defence 2025: Indonesian Army to trial Rajawali 500 cargo UAV

The Rajawali 500 cargo UAV that will be trialled by the Indonesian Army. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)

Indonesia's PT Bhinneka Dwi Persada has secured an arrangement with the Indonesian Army to carry out field evaluations of the company's Rajawali 500 tandem-rotor cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Speaking to Janes at the Indo Defence 2025 exhibition in Jakarta, a representative from the company described the Rajawali 500 as a multifunctional carrier that can transport and disseminate payloads of up to 200 kg, and these can be carried in several configurations.

These include underslung payloads, containerised cargo, and air-droppable payloads, said the representative.

Given these capabilities, the Rajawali 500 UAV can be deployed to deliver victuals and other equipment into areas of operation that do not have access to a suitable helicopter landing site, he added.

The Rajawali 500 has been developed by PT Bhinneka Dwi Persada for operations by the Indonesian National Armed Forces, but it is based on a China-sourced UAV that is available on the open market.

According to the company representative who spoke to Janes , the identity of the Chinese manufacturer cannot be disclosed due to commercial sensitivity reasons.

The UAV measures 3.6×1.45×1.85 m, and each of its rotors has a diameter of 5.4 m, which means that the UAV needs a much smaller landing site when compared with conventional rotor-winged aircraft.

When carrying its maximum payloads, the aviation gasoline-fuelled UAV has a maximum endurance of about three hours, a top speed of about 140 km/h, and a maximum altitude of 15,000 ft.