PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC
Embraer is urging air force to select its new 170-seat regional jet rather than upgrade ex-US Lockheed Martin P-3B
Embraer is pushing the Brazilian air force to order the maritime surveillance EMB-145 MP, following the sale of two aircraft to Mexico, or pay it to develop a longer-range maritime patrol variant of its new 70-seat regional jet as an alternative to upgrading eight surplus US Navy Lockheed Martin P-3B Orions.
The air force has delayed selecting a contractor to modernise the P-3s from among three bidders, Alenia, EADS Casa and Lockheed Martin. The move was party designed to allow the air force to better focus on the higher priority F-X fighter competition, but was also in response to political pressure from Embraer promoting its own maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), say local sources.
Brazil has already contracted with the US government to purchase 12 low-time P-3Bs, including four spare airframes, from among aircraft stored in the desert at Davis-Monthan, Arizona, but regeneration work has not yet begun. One option being considered by the air force is to still take the Orions, but have US P-3 specialist Aero Union modify the aircraft for firefighting over the Amazon jungle.
Developing an MPA version of the recently rolled out Embraer 70-seat regional jet is considered the most expensive option, entailing the integration of a sensor and tactical operator suite and equipping the aircraft with hardpoints. The aircraft's chief appeal is its jet performance and, with the addition of auxiliary fuel tanks like those proposed for a corporate jet version, a range of 7,400km (4,000nm).
It is thought that the air force's preference would be to upgrade the P-3Bs to P-3C Update II configuration and eventually order 19-24 EMB-145 MPs - a militarised version of the Embraer ERJ-145 50-seat regional jet - to replace its P-95 patrol aircraft. Brazil has already ordered eight of the regional jets as Amazon surveillance platforms: five SA airborne early warning (AEW) versions equipped with an Ericsson Erieye radar and three RS variants configured for remote sensing.
Mexico has selected Raytheon to equip its two recently ordered EMB-145 MPs with an integrated mission suite, comprising a belly-mounted Raytheon SeaVue radar, incorporating an inverse synthetic aperture mode, APX-114 IFF interrogator and FLIR Systems Star 2 forward looking infra-red imager. The Mexican SEDENA programme also includes one EMB-145 AEW aircraft, which Raytheon has also been contracted to equip with its communications intelligence system.Source: Flight International
