US Army launches Textron Beechcraft turboprop acquisition for Peru and Ecuador
The King Air 360 Extended Range turboprop was desigend to reduce pilot workload. (Photo: Textron Aviation)
The three Textron Beechcraft turboprops will perform maritime patrol missions for Peru and Ecuador.
US Army Contracting Command has awarded Textron Aviation an Foreign Military Sales (FMS) deal for a Cessna SkyCourier, Cessna Grand Caravan EX, Beechcraft King Air 360 and Beechcraft King Air 260 turboprop aircraft.
The initial award covered three King Air 360 Extended Range (KA360ER) platforms, of which two will be destined for the Peruvian Naval Aviation Force and one for the Ecuadorian Naval Aviation.
Acquisition work for the three turboprops will be carried out over a five-year period, with the contract value set to be up to US$100 million, Textron said. All three of the King Air turboprops will be expected to perform maritime patrol over the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of their respective countries.
'This IDIQ aligns with US defense secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent tasking memo directing improvement and acceleration of DOD’s institutional processes to execute FMS cases,’ said Bob Gibbs, VP of special mission sales at Textron Aviation.
‘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.’
According to the manufacturer, the KA360ER turboprop have been designed to reduce pilot workload with features such as the IS&S ThrustSense Autothrottle, which delivers precision control for optimised power output.
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