The 1984 Casa-212 military aircraft disappeared during an aerial surveillance mission yesterday after taking off from an airstrip just east of the capital, Jakarta, air force spokesman Chaeruddin Ray said.

An Indian, Singaporean and Briton working for Singaore-based company Credent Technology were the three foreigners on the flight testing new camera equipment, he said.

Hundreds of police and soldiers began combing the dense jungle at the base of Salak Mountain, about 100 kilometres south of Jakarta, nearly a day after the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers.

"The aircraft has not been found yet. The area is too large," said police spokesman Yusuf, who like many Indonesian goes by a single name.

Indonesia has seen a spate of airline accidents in recent years, including an Adam Air crash that killed 102 and another by national carrier Garuda that killed 21, leading the European Union to ban all Indonesian airlines.