Will Modernize 28-Plane Fleet

EADS Socata announced Monday it has received French Defense Procurement Agency notification of a 1.7 million euro ($2.5 million) contract to upgrade the French armed forces’ TBM 700 aircraft fleet.

The modernization program involves 28 TBM 700s currently in service with the French Air Force, French Army Aviation and the French National Flight Test Center. EADS Socata will provide the hardware and systems, implement the modernization, and update TBM 700 fleet documentation.

Primary modifications will be the installation of a Mode S transponder with antenna diversity, the hardening of VOR receivers, and replacement of the chemical oxygen system by a gaseous oxygen system with quick-drop mask.

"This contract underscores the French Armed Forces’ high level of confidence in EADS Socata," said Raphaël Maître, the aircraft manufacturer’s Vice President of Customer Services. "It also demonstrates EADS Socata’s ability to develop, certify and implement major aircraft modifications with the highest level of safety for our operators, and which meet the latest standards."

The French military’s TBM 700 fleet passed its combined 130,000 flight hour mark in 2007. The inventory is composed of 14 TBM 700As in French Air Force liaison squadrons, nine TBM 700As and three TBM 700Bs in the French Army Aviation Transport Squadron, and two TBM 700As in the National Flight Test Center.

FMI: www.socata.eads.net