By Calvin Biesecker
The Coast Guard last week awarded the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) a $117.2 million contract to produce and deliver three HC-144A maritime patrol aircraft, marking another departure by the service away from Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS), its former lead systems integrator for the Deepwater asset modernization program.
The contract includes options for six more aircraft over a four-year period in keeping with the Department of Homeland Security’s approval of an extend low-rate initial production buy of the HC-144As while the aircraft undergo operational test and evaluation. So far, 10 of the aircraft have been delivered with the 11th slated to be taken by the Coast Guard this fall.
The HC-144A is a version of the CN-235, a twin-engine transport plane used by a number of foreign militaries that is built by Spain’s CASA, a division of EADS. Currently, ICGS subcontracts to Lockheed Martin [LMT] who in turn subcontracts to EADS for the CN-235 under original Deepwater contracting arrangement. But as the Coast Guard began to move away from ICGS several years ago at the behest of Congress, as existing contracts end it is contracting directly with the manufacturers of ships and aircraft.
Last year, the Coast Guard sought approval by DHS for the extended HC-144A LRIP to avoid a production break because it has to conduct an operational test and evaluation of the aircraft which should have been done sooner in the program (Defense Daily, Sept. 14 and July 15, 2009). With the approval in hand, in April the service issued a Request for Proposal to initiate a competition for the HC-144A, which had to be based on the CN-235 airframe, to procure the next tranche of aircraft.
The Coast Guard is expected to eventually purchase 36 HC-144As, which are outfitted with mission systems pallets to conduct maritime patrols. Lockheed Martin currently provides the pallets, which can be rolled on and off the aircraft. The service has 12 of the mission pallets on contract and so far five have been delivered with the sixth and seventh undergoing acceptance testing this week. All 12 are supposed to be delivered by this fall.
EADS has nearly two years to deliver the first of the three new HC-144As although the Coast Guard expects that it will take only 18 months based on current contract to delivery rates. All three aircraft will be delivered by the end of FY ’12.