Lockheed Martin has been awarded a USD181 million contract to provide Saudi Arabia with two KC-130J Hercules tanker-transport aircraft.
The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract, which was awarded by the US Department of Defense (DoD) on 3 October but not announced until 18 October, includes engineering support and will see both aircraft delivered to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) by April 2016.
The RSAF KC-130J procurement is part of larger transport aircraft request disclosed by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notification released in late 2012 that includes five KC-130J and 20 C-130J-30 platforms.
In addition to the aircraft, the request includes 120 Rolls-Royce AE2100D3 engines (100 installed and 20 spares), 25 Link-16 Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems, support equipment, spare and repair parts, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical data, US government and contractor technical assistance, and other related logistics support.
If fully realised, the deal would be worth an estimated USD6.7 billion. According to the DSCA notification, the sale of new aircraft to the RSAF is necessary "to sustain its aging [transport and aerial refuelling] fleet, which faces increasing obsolescence".
Currently, the RSAF operates 27 C-130H, three C-130H-30, and four L-100-30 Hercules transport aircraft that have been in service since 1970, 1992, and 1983, respectively. It also operates four VIP-configured VC-130H platforms that it procured in 1975. The RSAF's aerial assets comprise seven 1973-vintage KC-130H platforms, as well as seven Boeing KE-3A tankers that it procured in 1983. The first two of six new Airbus Military A330 MultiRole Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft were handed over in 2011, with deliveries set to be complete by 2016.
Source: http://www.janes.com/article/28508/saud ... t-aircraft
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