A special mission variant of the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 has been submitted to the US Army to serve as the future Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) platform, the Canadian manufacturer has confirmed.
In late April, the army downgraded its platform choice from a business or regional jet to a turboprop and surveyed possible aircraft options from industry. Bombardier did not submit a response to the service directly, but was called upon by several companies to provide information about the Q400.
"We have supported several responses sent to the US government," says Derek Gilmour, Bombardier president for special mission aircraft. "We responded to questions that were posed to us on our capability to support programmes like this."
The Q400 has operated for nearly a decade as a regional airliner. But Bombardier has recently unveiled plans to offer the latest version of the Dash 8-series turboprop to serve the global market for special mission aircraft.
Its predecessors - the Q100, Q200 and Q300 - have each found a niche as a surveillance or search and rescue platform, Gilmour says. That legacy should ensure that there is no design risk with missionising the Q400 airframe, he adds.
The Q400 stands out in the market with the longest fuselage of a currently produced aircraft in its class. Its 32.8m (107ft) cabin length falls short of only the out-of-production Lockheed P-3 Orion, says Bombardier.
In addition to the US Army's ACS contract, Bombardier is actively marketing the Q400 as a maritime patrol aircraft. The airframe is targeted at replacing ageing P-3s nearing retirement around the world, including in Canada.
Bombardier plans to offer either the Q400 or the Global Express jet for Canada's multi-mission aircraft requirement, with Ottawa expected to start replacing the CP-140 Aurora (P-3) fleet after 2017.
The Q400 is also a possible candidate for Canada's fixed-wing search and rescue contract, which would replace six de Havilland CL-115 Buffalos. The Q400's 360kt (666km/h) cruise speed and cabin size fits Canada's current requirements for the programme, says David Jurkowski, Bombardier vice-president of government relations and sales support.
Source: Flight International
