Paris - France's Direction Générale pour l'Armement (DGA) has ordered eight Casa CN-235 transport aircraft for 225 million euros ($305 million) as a stopgap measure pending delivery of the larger A400M airlifter, the procurement office said April 1.
"In line with the decision of the Ministry of Defense taken at the end of last year at a ministerial investment committee, the Direction Générale pour l'Armement has ordered 8 light transport aircraft of the Casa CN-235 type," the DGA said in a statement The contract, signed March 25, includes initial service support from EADS Casa, with deliveries to the French Air Force scheduled between 2011 and 2013.
The eight new aircraft will join the 19 CN-235 planes in service and allow missions to be better distributed among the Transall C-160, Hercules C-130 and Casa CN-235s flown by the Air Force.
DGA chief Laurent Collet-Billion told a parliamentary hearing March 24 that the present fleet of aging transports met only about 25 percent of the cargo mission set out in the white paper on defense and national security. Some aircraft are more than 40 years old and are costly to maintain.
A major concern of the service is the difficulty in maintaining pilot skills and flight hours with the present fleet.
The twin-engine propeller Casa CN-235 performs logistical supply and parachute drops. The plane has a range of 3,500 kilometers and carries 5 tons of cargo or 40 passengers.
A first delivery of the A400M aircraft in its basic cargo-carrying configuration is due in 2013, with an expected entry into service the following year.
from: defense news
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