CESSNA AIRCRAFT'S Citation V Ultra business jet has been selected by the US Army to fill the C-XX medium-range transport aircraft mission.
An initial award of $8.4 million will pay for two aircraft, contractor support for one year and training. Ultimately, the US Army will buy 35 aircraft over a five-year period.
Cessna is teamed with DynCorp to provide on-site maintenance support and with FlightSafety International for pilot and mechanic training. The five-year contract is worth over $1.2 billion.
The C-XX procurement is part of the US Army's plan to cut the number of aircraft types from the 21 now operated by active US Army and reserve-forces aviation units to a handful of types by 2015.
Source: Flight International