Textron Aviation has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Contracting Command to supply a range of turboprop aircraft in support of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programs.
The contract, which falls under the indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) category, is valued at up to $100 million over a five-year period.
Range of turboprop aircraft
The aircraft to be provided as part of this contract include the Cessna SkyCourier, Cessna Grand Caravan EX, Beechcraft King Air 360, and Beechcraft King Air 260.
The Cessna SkyCourier, Cessna Grand Caravan EX, and Beechcraft King Air are all products of Textron Aviation Inc., a subsidiary of Textron Inc.
The initial award of the contract covers three King Air 360 Extended Range (KA360ER) aircraft. Two of these aircraft are designated for the Peruvian Naval Aviation Force, while one is intended for the Ecuadorian Naval Aviation.
This contract aligns with a directive from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to improve and accelerate the Department of Defense’s processes for executing FMS cases.
Special mission operations
“It will provide highly capable commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) aircraft that can be equipped with COTS releasable technology, and it will accelerate acquisition and contracting timelines from many months or years to weeks,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Mission Sales for Textron Aviation.
“We are honored the U.S. Army created this multiyear IDIQ contract with Textron Aviation, which provides the ability to rapidly procure COTS aircraft and modification for FMS allies and partner nations.”
The King Air turboprops awarded under this contract will be used for maritime patrol missions to enforce the sovereignty of Peru and Ecuador over their respective Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).
Textron Aviation is known for providing aviation solutions for various critical missions, including those for government, military, and commercial customers.
Their aircraft are chosen for tasks such as air ambulance, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), utility transport, aerial survey, flight inspection, training, and various special operations due to their high performance, flight characteristics, quality, versatility, and cost-effectiveness.
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