Delivery Of The Newly-Ordered CN235s Will Begin In Mid-2011

The Ministry of Defense of France and Airbus Military have signed a contract for the acquisition of eight CN235-300 aircraft for the French Air Force.

Delivery of the newly ordered CN235s will begin middle of next year as a measure to replace part of the aging C160-Transalls when used for missions involving the transport of less than six tons of payload.

These aircraft come in addition to the 19 CN235-200 already in operation with the French Air Force. They will help developing light transport, logistics, and paratroop training missions. Recently, three Fort de France (French Caribbean) based CN235s significantly contributed to the Haiti relief activities.

The maintenance of the new aircraft will be handled by Airbus Military through the FISS (Full In Service Support) agreement.

"We are very pleased that the French Air Force has once more selected one member of our product family. This contract once more demonstrates that we have the right product range to satisfy their most varied needs in terms of strategic and tactical transport needs" said Domingo Urena, CEO of Airbus Military.

FMI: www.airbus.com