The United Arab Emirates will buy 12 Lockheed Martin [LMT] C-130J Super Hercules and four Boeing [BA] C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes to modernize the country’s tactical airlift fleet, contractors recently said at the IDEX Defence Exhibition in Abu Dhabi.
Boeing is under contract to deliver and support 205 C-17s for the U.S. Air Force, and the production line is expected to be closed in late 2010 unless additional purchases are made.
There are currently 189 Globemasters in service worldwide–the United States has 175; the United Kingdom has six; and Canada and Australia each have four. Boeing officials have said they are “aggressively” marketing the product internationally (Defense Daily, July 23).
The C-130Js to be delivered to the UAE will be the longer C-130J-30 configuration and of similar specification to those being delivered to the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin said in a press statement.
The UAE currently operates a fleet of C-130Hs, which will be retained until the new aircraft enter service, according to Lockheed Martin officials.
Canada, India, Norway and Qatar have signed deals for C-130J purchases. Iraq last year announced the intent to procure six aircraft, while Australia and Kuwait are also discussing contracts with Lockheed Martin, officials have said (Defense Daily, Aug. 27).
According to the U.S. Air Force, the per-unit cost for a C-130J was $59.7 million under its last five-year contract. The service hopes to purchase approximately 120 more aircraft, some of which are intended for Marine Corps and special operations use. Officials have said the exact numbers are being determined by Pentagon officials in discussions to formulate a six-year spending plan for fiscal years 2010 through 2015 (Defense Daily, Aug. 23).