Spartan could oust CN-235 from coast guard deal

Lockheed Martin executives believe the C-27J Spartan may yet find a role in the US Coast Guard (USCG), despite the rival EADS Casa CN235ER being named in the winning bid for the service's Project Deepwater.

The USCG last month named a Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman partnership – Integrated Coast Guard Solutions – as winner of the $11 billion Deepwater competition to supply ships, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to the service.

Negotiations

ICGS's proposal includes 35 CN235ERs. At the show yesterday, however, senior Lockheed Martin executives were raising the possibility of the C-27J, co-produced by Lockheed Martin and Italy's Alenia in the LMATTS partnership, getting an eventual nod.

"We're currently responding to a series of questions from the Coast Guard to see how the C-27J might fit into their future plans," says James Grant, senior director, domestic market development.

"Casa was identified for Deepwater, but much of the work on that was done before 11 September. Since then, a lot of work has been done on homeland security and the Coast Guard are very impressed with the long legs of the C-27J. "In Deepwater, they were trying to fit a cost box; we've always been told that the C-27J would get a look after the award."

Elsewhere in the C-27J programme, contract negotiations with Greece are "moving very rapidly forward", says Dennys Plessas, vice-president, business development initiatives Europe, Middle East, Africa, of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. Greece has announced its intention to buy 12 of the type, plus three options.