In 2003, after the
IPTN N250 program was terminated, Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) planned to develop a 19-seat utility/commuter aircraft to offset the
IPTN NC212. In early 2004, IAe was in discussions with Malaysian aerospace companies and was estimating the price of N219 development at US$60–80 million in order to fly a prototype in April 2006 and certify it in August 2007. In 2006, the US$65 million funding for the 19 seat N219 development was proposed under the
Qatar-Indonesia Joint Investment Fund, 70% funded by Qatar and 30% by Indonesia, for a prototype within two years. By June 2011, its price was forecast to be
US$4 million each and it was expected to fly in 2014. The Indonesian Industry Minister requested
Rp59 billion to build the prototype. In January 2012, the predicted development budget was about US$30 million for 15 aircraft. In August 2014, the forecast price rose to US$5 million. The first pieces of metal were cut for the plane in September 2014, before a planned roll-out in August 2015 and certification in 2016, before
EASA certification with support from
Airbus for export. In August 2016, Airbus was engaged to provide assistance with certification. The prototype entered testing after the November 2015 public introduction. The first prototype construction was planned to be completed in mid-2016 for a
maiden flight at the end of 2016, but this first flight was delayed to March 2017 for certification in the same year and production start in 2018. In February, it was delayed again to April. After a series of high-speed
taxiing runs on 11 August 2017 at
Husein Sastranegara International Airport in Bandung, the prototype took off on 16 August 2017 for a 26-minute flight under the command of IAe Chief Test Pilot
Ester Gayatri Saleh. At that time it was estimated that at least
Rp 200 billion was needed to complete 200 hours of flight tests for certification from the
Indonesian Transport Ministry. Production was forecast in 2019 to start with six aircraft, increasing to 16 in 2020 and 36 per year in a new US$90–100 million facility raised through
equity participation,
private-public partnerships, manufacturing
subsidiaries, and
joint ventures. On 8 December 2021, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the Indonesian Aerospace and PT Infoglobal Teknologi Semesta/Infoglobal to integrate maritime surveillance aircraft (MSA) mission systems into the N219. It will be based on a previous system that also installed on the
Indonesian Navy's NC212 Maritime Patrol aircraft. CEO of Indonesian Aerospace Gita Amperiawan stated in September 2024 that the N219 has entered serial production, slated for the
Indonesian Army. The company aimed to complete the Indonesian Defence Airworthiness Authority (IDAA) type certification for the N219 in 2027 and deliver the first aircraft at the same time. The military variant has sliding door for medical evacuation, logistics and troop transport. Indonesian Aerospace and Scytalys, a Greek company, signed a framework agreement on 21 November 2025 to develop the N219 MSA (Maritime Surveillance Aircraft) variant for the
Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla). IAe would act as the main contractor and responsible for aircraft configuration, while Scytalys would provide and integrate Scytalys' MIMS Airborne Mission System to the aircraft. The variant is planned to be equipped with surveillance radar with range up to and electro-optical/infrared sensor with detection range of . The N219 MSA would have operational range of up to and more than five hours of endurance. The N219 MSA development is planned to enter into contract at the end of 2026. Later in March 2nd 2026 local time an official video of the aircraft PK-XDP and PK-XDT conducting flight tests including nighttime flight, one engine inoperative test flight, and accelerated stall test was shared. ==Design==