BAe 146M military transport ontwikkelingen.

Gestart door Ace1, 01/10/2015 | 20:49 uur

Ace1

BAE Systems anticipates increased interest in BAe 146M military transport

BAE Systems expects to see a renewed growth in interest in its BAe 146M military transport aircraft as the regional airlines begin replacing their fleets with newer types that will soon be introduced into global service, a company official noted on 1 October.

Speaking under the Chatham House Rule at an event in London, the official said that the company's ability to provide refurbished BAe 146 jets to the military transport market had until now been hamstrung by delays in the introduction into service of the new Bombardier C-Series regional airliner that is being procured by many airlines to replace them. With the C-Series now just months away from being fielded, the opportunity exists for BAE Systems to really push its BAe 146M as the airlines begin returning their aircraft to the company.

"The delay in the C-series meant that the return of [used 146s] to BAE Systems was delayed, but now there is an opportunity in the marketplace that wasn't there a couple of years ago," the official said.

The concept of the military transport variant BAe 146M was first launched by BAE Systems in September 2009 as a cheap and capable option for those nations needing tactical fixed-wing airlift. The platform is being offered to military air arms in either a passenger or freighter configuration, or as a combination of the two. As pure passenger aircraft these platforms will seat between 80 and 109 passengers, while as freighters they will carry 11 to 12.5 tonnes of freight.

Performance figures released by the company give a converted 146-200 cargo variant (146-200QT) a range of approximately 1,650 nm with a payload of about 11.5 tonnes. A 146-300QT will be able to operate out to just over 1,600 nm with a payload of about 12.5 tonnes. An extended range (ER) 146-300QT concept variant will be able to haul 12.5 tonnes over 2,200 nm.

http://www.janes.com/article/54960/bae-systems-anticipates-increased-interest-in-bae-146m-military-transport