Specially-Equipped King Air 350ER Aircraft Performing ISR Missions In Several Theaters Of Operation

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) announced Monday it has received a follow-on order from the United States Air Force for six additional King Air 350ER special mission aircraft in support of Project Liberty. HBC was awarded the original contract for 23 King Air 350ER turboprops, designated by the military as the MC-12W, in November 2008. The company has completed delivery of these 23 aircraft.

“This follow-on order is directly linked to the reliability and versatility of the MC-12W special mission aircraft in performing its important Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance mission and the fact that we delivered all of the aircraft in the original order on or ahead of schedule,” said Jim Maslowski, president, U.S. and International Government Business. “Since being deployed in several theaters of operation, the aircraft have demonstrated extremely high-mission capability and logged hundreds of hours on station.”

Modified with military-required equipment, the MC-12W provides the Air Force with advanced technology and reliability. The value of the additional order for six aircraft is approximately $45 million. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

The King Air 350ER, a derivative of the King Air 350, provides extended range through the addition of nacelle fuel tanks, along with an increase in gross weight from 15,000 to 16,500 pounds and the incorporation of heavy-weight landing gear. The aircraft is ideally suited for use in special missions as an airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform. The aircraft can provide more than eight hours of endurance and has the flexibility to loiter low and slow or cruise at 300 knots and 35,000 feet. Taking off at gross weight with full fuel and full payload, the King Air 350ER can fly out 100 nautical miles, perform a low altitude surveillance mission for 7 hours and 20 minutes, fly back 100 nautical miles, and still land with more than 45 minutes of fuel on board. No other aircraft in its class can come close to this performance.

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