IPTN planes shortlisted

IPTN planes shortlisted

CANBERRA (Reuter): Australia yesterday shortlisted IPTN of
Indonesia, CASA of Spain, and a consortium of Lockheed Martin
Corp and Italy's Alenia to replace its old Caribou light
transport aircraft.

"The new aircraft will maintain the capability currently
represented by the Royal Australian Air Force's DHC-4 Caribou
aircraft and will be used primarily in the tactical air transport
role," Defense Minister Ian McLachlan said in a statement.

A Royal Australian Air Force spokesman said 12 to 18 aircraft
would be ordered under the project, the exact number depending on
the capability of the model selected.

The three companies would be asked to lodge tenders and a
decision was expected late next year with the first aircraft
entering service in late 2000, the spokesman said.

CASA (Construccions Aeronauticas SA) and IPTN (Industri
Pesawat Terbang Nusantara) are separately offering Australia
three models derived from the one original design.

They together build the CN235 basic model and each is offering
one variant of that -- the CN235-300M from CASA and the CN235-330
Phoenix from IPTN.

CASA is also offering its C-295, a longer aircraft derived
from the CN235 and unveiled at last month's Paris airshow.

Lockheed and Alenia are bidding with the C-27J Spartan, which
is a heavily upgraded variant of an old Alenia model now fitted
with the same engines and many of the same systems as Lockheed's
C-130J Hercules, which Australia already has ordered.

McLachlan said he was pleased with the level of interest from
Australian industry in participating as subcontractors in the
project.

Australia requires an aircraft that can carry a five ton
payload to a short airstrip 640 km (400 miles) away and then
return without refuelling.