US Military Orders More King Air 350ER Aircraft
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Despite all of the high-tech fighter hours flown in theater, Hawker Beechcraft’s twin-propeller King Air 350 continues to gain traction as an affordable, long-endurance option for light cargo delivery in remote areas – and effective manned battlefield surveillance and attack. Iraq’s Air Force was the first to order them, and an initial 6-plane order from the US Marines/Navy followed in July 2008.
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has pushed hard to improve ISR capabilities on the front lines, and one of those planned purchases reportedly involves about 30 King Air 350/ C-12 aircraft. The C-12s have proven to be very useful as a component of the Army’s Task Force ODIN, which has combined the respective advantages of UAVs and manned aircraft to improve aerial surveillance and response over Iraq. ODIN is credited with a number of successes on the ground, and the concept is being exported to Afghanistan.
Part of that process involves buying new and updated light aircraft. The USAF is now exercising its option for more, under the original contract…
- Project Liberty, and the MC-12
- Contracts and Key Events
- Additional Readings
Project Liberty, and the MC-12
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The new King Air 350s are called “MC-12W Project Liberty special mission turboprop aircraft” by the US Air Force. The old C-12/UC-12 is also known as the Huron, and was derivative of the civilian Beechcraft King Air 200. It can land on airfields under 3,000 feet in length, and is normally used for VIP and light transport duties. These short-field capabilities, coupled with the small size of many urgent needs on the front lines, have pressed many C-12s into service in theater.
The new orders are King Air 350s, however, a slightly larger aircraft with 23.5% more engine power, improved speed and rate of climb, and slightly more load-carrying capacity. Another advantage they’ll have over their predecessors is built-in protective systems. In contrast, American UC-12s have often had their in-theater flights limited or at risk due to their their lack of protection against shoulder fired ground-to-air missiles like the SA-7.
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Taking off with full fuel and payload, an MC-12 can perform medium-altitude surveillance over a designated area for more than 7 hours, fly back 100 nautical miles to base, and still land with more than 45 minutes of fuel on board. That’s significantly less time than an MQ-1B Predator UAV’s 30 hours, but the plane can carry more gear, and has a much wider general field of view.
The MC-12 aircraft are equipped signals intelligence (SIGINT) electronic interception capabilities, and initial aircraft will carry L-3 Westar’s MX-15i surveillance turrets. The first 8 MC-12s will be restricted to an infrared pointer, which allows the aircraft to signal an object or building to soldiers wearing special goggles. A planned future upgrade would add a full laser targeting designator that could mark targets for helicopter or UAV-fired Hellfire missiles, laser-guided AGM-65 Maverick missiles fired from manned fighters, and the laser-guided 70mm rockets that many vendors are currently developing.
Secretary Gates gave the green light to buy 37 MC-12 aircraft by the end of 2009, as part of the Project Liberty program. Project Liberty is part of the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ ISR task force, which was set up to provide enhanced ISR capabilities to U.S. Central Command.
Contracts and Key Events
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Dec 27/09: Bagram Airfield welcomes its first Air Force MC-12W to Afghanistan. US Military DVIDS | USAF.
Oct 19/09: Hawker Beechcraft Corporation announces [PDF] that the USAF has exercised a $45 million option for 6 additional MC-12W special mission aircraft in support of Project Liberty, per the original November 2008 contract. The company adds that the first 23 planes have all been delivered, on or ahead of schedule. See also Flight International.
Sept 15/09: A comment at the US Air Force Association’s Air & Space Symposium helps clarify the price breakdown of an MC-12W. Lionel G. Smith, L-3’s director, Strategic Development Special Programs, is quoted as saying that:
“It costs about $7 million [per plane] from Hawker Beechcraft, and about $10 million in modifications. From [initial] contract to [deployment in] combat was about eight months.”
July 28/09: Hawker Beechcraft Corporation in Wichita, KS receives a $ 21.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for the purchase of 1 King Air B350 aircraft, and 2 King Air B350Cs in the air ambulance/medical evacuation, with cargo door options. There are also 6 one-month options for storage of the aircraft.
Work is to be performed in Wichita, KS, with an estimated completion date of Feb 28/11. One was bid solicited with one bid received by U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, CCAM-RD-F at Redstone Arsenal, AL (W58RGZ-09-C-0087).
June 16/09: Defense News reports that Iraqi and American buys may be the forerunner of a much larger trend:
”...in the coming decade [L-3 and HawkerBeechcraft] saw a potential domestic market for up to 75 of the [King Air 350 ISR] aircraft at a value of $1.3 billion. [L-3 VP Allison] Hartley said Africa, the Middle East and other regions were all potential markets. The international market could be worth double that in platform sales with a value of about $2.5 billion…. She specifically named the United Kingdom as a potential sales opportunity. The British have already ordered a handful of King Airs for the ISR mission. One has been delivered.”
June 10/09: The first MC-12 Liberty combat mission is flown from Joint Base Balad, Iraq, by the 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron. The specialty reconnaissance aircraft flies a 4-hour mission, after arriving at Balad on June 8/09. Air Force Report: MC-12 [video] | Pentagon DVIDS re: arrival | Pentagon DVIDS re: combat mission.
April 8/09: The USAF announces their acceptance of the first MC-12 from Hawker Beechcraft. Deployment will take place in May 2009.
MC-12W production line
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Dec 24/08: Hawker Beechcraft Corporation in Wichita, KS received a $12.7 million firm-fixed-price contract for the purchase of 2 Super King Air Model 350 aircraft. Work will be performed in Ozark, AL, with an estimated completion date of July 31/09. One bid was solicited and one bid received by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W58RGZ-09-C-0087).
Nov 21/08: L3 Communications Integrated Systems in Greenville, TX received a firm fixed price commercial contract for $7.5 million. This action will provide for 1 Beechcraft King Air 350ER aircraft. L3 does not make the aircraft, but it does perform integration for the ISR version, which will use their MX-15 line or surveillance and targeting turrets.
At this time, the entire amount has been obligated in advance by 645 AESG/SYK at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (FA8620-09-C-3021)
Nov 18/08: Hawker Beechcraft Corp. in Wichita, KS receives a firm-fixed commercial contract for 23 Beechcraft King Air 350ERs, with an option for 6 additional aircraft. The contract’s value is $171.5 million, and the entire amount has already been obligated. The 645 AESG/SYK at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, OH manages this contract (FA8620-09-C-3020). Hawker Beechcraft’s subsequent release [PDF] confirms that these are “special mission” ISR variants.
Additional Readings
- DID – MARSS: Quasi-Civilian Spy Plane Service Ordered by Pentagon, Canada. The Canadian order involves King Air 300s, modified for the ISR role.
- Aerial Surveillance Systems, Inc. – SkyEye 350. A private venture based on the King Air 350, similar in concept and equipment to the MC-12W.
- US OSD, via Pentagon DVIDS (Sept 1/09) – Gates to MC-12 Workers: Your Work Is Saving Troops’ Lives
- Defense News, Paris Airshow 2009 (June 16/09) – Beechcraft May Add Weapon-Carrying Capability to King Air
