Textron Aviation has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL, for the Cessna SkyCourier, Cessna Grand Caravan EX, Beechcraft King Air 360 and Beechcraft King Air 260 turboprop aircraft in support of Foreign Military Sales (FMS). The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract allows up to US$100 million (£83 million) for the acquisition of Textron Aviation aircraft over a five-year period.
The Cessna SkyCourier, Cessna Grand Caravan EX and Beechcraft King Air are designed and manufactured by Textron Aviation, a Textron company.
The initial award is for three King Air 360 Extended Range (KA360ER) aircraft, of which two are destined for the Peruvian Naval Aviation Force (Fuerza de Aviación Naval) and one for the Ecuadorian Naval Aviation (Aviación Naval Ecuatoriana).
“This IDIQ aligns with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent tasking memo directing improvement and acceleration of DOD’s institutional processes to execute FMS cases. 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 Pesident, Special Mission Sales for Textron Aviation. “We are honoured 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.”
All three of the initial King Air turboprops will perform maritime patrol to enforce the sovereignty of Peru and Ecuador over their respective Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).
