Integrated Surveillance and Reconnaissance Solution Debut

Opening day at the Paris Air Show is full of exciting announcments... such as Raytheon's announcing another step in the Beechcraft King Air line with the introduction of the Beechcraft King Air 350ER - the latest in a line of proven special mission aircraft.

A derivative of the successful Beechcraft King Air 350, the Beechcraft King Air 350ER (civvie versions shown below) provides extended range (ER) through the addition of nacelle fuel tanks, along with an increase in gross weight from 15,000 lbs to 16,500 lbs, plus the incorporation of heavy-weight landing gear. These enhancements provide the Beechcraft King Air 350ER with over eight hours of endurance, and the flexibility to loiter low and slow, or cruise at 300 knots and 35,000 feet.

Taking off at gross weight with full fuel and full payload, the Beechcraft King Air 350ER can fly out 100 nautical miles, perform a low altitude surveillance mission for 7 hours and 20 minutes, fly back 100 nautical miles, and still land with over 45 minutes of fuel on board. No other aircraft in its class can come close to this performance.

Raytheon Aircraft Company also has the unique ability to draw upon the strengths of other businesses of Raytheon Company to provide customers with a high technology, cost-effective "one-company" solution for their special mission needs. Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) business has teamed with Raytheon Aircraft Company and Raytheon Technical Services Company to debut an integrated surveillance and reconnaissance solution using the Beechcraft King Air 350ER as the airborne platform. This "one-company" offering provides a complete, ready-to-use overland or maritime surveillance mission solution through integration of the HISAR or SeaVue radar systems.

"Whether the mission is patrolling economic exclusion zones, conducting maritime search and rescue activities, or providing overland surveillance, the Beechcraft King Air 350ER provides proven reliability and unparalleled cost-effectiveness over a wide variety of military and civilian special missions," said John Brauneis, vice president, contracts and special mission business, Raytheon Aircraft Company.

"From platform to sensors to total service and support, this integrated surveillance and reconnaissance solution is a "tip to tail" single-company offering that assures customer mission success and delivers dependable mission support," said Brad Hopper, business development manager, Space and Airborne Systems, Raytheon Company.
Special mission customers will benefit from Raytheon Aircraft Company's extensive support infrastructure that includes more than 100 factory owned and factory authorized service centers. Expanding international markets show the need for special mission aircraft for a variety of purposes such as, homeland security, maritime and overland surveillance, reconnaissance, and disaster relief.

FMI: www.raytheonaircraft.com