Army orders three Beechcraft King Air aircraft for Peru and Ecuador

Textron Aviation announced Tuesday it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., for three King Air 360 Extended Range (KA360ER) aircraft.

The three aircraft are part of a $100 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for special mission aircraft that include Cessna SkyCouriers, Cessna Caravans and Beechcraft King Air turboprops.

Two of the KA360ER aircraft are destined for the Peruvian Naval Aviation Force and one for the Ecuadorian Naval Aviation.

Under the contract, Cessna SkyCourier, Cessna Grand Caravan EX, Beechcraft King Air 360 and Beechcraft King Air 260 turboprop aircraft will be sold in support of Foreign Military Sales (FMS). The IDIQ contract allows for the acquisition of Textron Aviation aircraft over a five-year period.

“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 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.”

All three of the initial King Air turboprops awarded will perform maritime patrol to enforce the sovereignty of Peru and Ecuador over their respective Exclusive Economic Zones.

Cessna Grand Caravan EX for Belize

In March, Textron announced it had delivered a special mission Cessna Grand Caravan EX aircraft to the Belize Ministry of National Defense and BorderSecurity. This aircraft was also ordered under an FMS contract executed by the U.S. Army Contracting Command.