In Dominican Republic service, the C-208B Grand Caravan EX will likely replace a number of light transport aircraft that have been seized from drug-trafficking organisations in recent years and assigned to the air transport squadron. (Textron)
The Dominican Republic is to receive an undisclosed number of Textron C-208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft from the United States.
The US Army Fixed Wing Project Office (FWPO) disclosed the foreign military sales (FMS) on 8 September, posting a heavily redacted sole source Justification and Approval (J&A) notice for the sale to the Dominican Republic Air Force (Fuerza Aérea de República Dominicana: FARD) on the sam.gov US government procurement website.
“The FWPO FMS group has a requirement to procure [redacted] Cessna C-208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft, published options, aircraft spares, programme management, publications, training, and airworthiness packages for the [redacted],” the J&A document said, while the notification listed noted the sale was for the Dominican Republic.
No delivery timeline for the Caribbean country was disclosed, expect to say that delivery would take place within 12 months of a contract award. The value of the award was redacted.
The C-208B EX has been designed specifically for high payload operations into short and rugged runways. According to company-supplied specifications, the single turboprop aircraft can take-off in less than 425 m and climb at a rate of 1,275 ft per minute. It has a cruise speed of 185 kt, a range of 912 n miles, a useful payload of 1,600 kg, and can carry up to 14 passengers.
Looking to read the full article?
Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more...
