The Colombian air force has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for 24 light-strike turboprop aircraft to replace its Cessna A-37B Dragonflys and Rockwell OV-10D Broncos.
The programme is valued at $234 million, and is part of a $539 million procurement project to modernise Colombia's combat aircraft. Responses to the RFP are due at the end of this month.
Likely bidders include the Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano, Korean Aerospace Industries KO-1, Pilatus PC-21 and Raytheon T-6A. An increased need to deploy combat aircraft to forward operating locations and the fact that only 25 airfields are cleared for jet operations have dictated the requirement for single-engine, turboprop-powered aircraft.
The air force has not disclosed the contenders for its light-strike requirement, but sources outside the service indicate a selection has been made and that contract signing is pending funding approval by Colombia's inter-parliamentary public credit commission.
The air force has continuing A-37 and OV-10 modernisation and refurbishment programmes - but both types are elderly, and will be retired by 2007, by which time Colombia intends to have started phasing-in new aircraft.
The second, $305 million phase of the combat aircraft procurement programme is for 12 fighters which are believed to be replacements for Dassault Mirage 5CORs.
Source: Flight International