Even With A400M, Lockheed Eyes France for C-130J

[tigershark]

Even With A400M, Lockheed Eyes France for C-130J
By pierre tran
Published: 15 Jul 12:53 EDT (16:53 GMT)

FARNBOROUGH, England - Lockheed Martin sees potential sales of its C-130J military transport plane to France, particularly for special operations, Ross Reynolds, vice president of C-130 programs, said July 15 at the Farnborough Airshow.

Such a sales task would be extremely challenging, given the political obligation to support the 20 billion euro ($31.8 billion) A400M program from EADS and a severe cash shortage in the French defense budget. There has been talk of cutting France's buy of 50 of the Airbus military airlifter.

"We have had discussions in the past with France," Reynolds said. "Even with the A400M, the 'J' could offer a special operations complementary capability." There are no current talks, he said.

The interest for the special operations forces stems from the C-130J's ability to get in and out of places that might prove hard for other aircraft. The U.S. military operates C-130s in special operations configuration.

Separately, Reynolds said Lockheed Martin had selected CMC to supply a portable mission system for the C-130 program.

Looking ahead, Lockheed sees sales opportunities of more than 200 C-130J units over the next 10 years, including 78 for the rescue tanker variant flown by U.S. Air Combat Command and 37 special operations planes.

The current production rate is 12 units per year, which could be doubled by 2010, Reynolds said. The unit price of a C-130J, depending on configuration, was in the mid- to upper $60 million range.

In foreign markets, some 35 exports orders were in view, mainly in the Middle East and Africa, due to the aircraft's ability to fly in hot temperatures and at high altitude, Reynolds said.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Chad Gibson said the C-130J had performed well and been reliable in combat conditions in Iraq. The C-130J has flown with every version of the Stryker armored vehicle in the hold, showing the ability to carry the latest heavy vehicles used by the Army, Gibson said.

EADS North America wants to sell the A400M to the U.S. military, pointing to its larger payload capacity as a sales point for carrying heavily protected armored vehicles, and an ability to land on unprepared strips. The European company sees the A400M as a potential replacement for the 450 or C-130 Hercules flown by the U.S. forces.

Source
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3627273&c=AME&s=TOP