CASA/IPTN CN-235
| CN-235 | |
|---|---|
| A CASA CN-235M-100 of the Spanish Air Force | |
| Role | Transport aircraft |
| Manufacturer | CASA/IPTN |
| First flight | 11 November 1983 |
| Introduction | 1 March 1988 |
| Primary users | Spanish Air Force Turkish Air Force Indonesian Air Force Republic of Korea Air Force Irish Air Corps |
| Variants | EADS CASA HC-144 Ocean Sentry |
| Developed into | EADS CASA C-295 |
The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport plane that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and IPTN of Indonesia as a regional airliner and military transport. Its primary military roles include maritime patrol, surveillance, and air transport. Its largest user is Turkey which has 61 aircraft.
Design and development
The project was a joint venture between Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN, which formed the Airtec
company to manage the programme. The partnership applied only to the
Series 10 and Series 100/110, with later versions being developed
independently. Over 230 of all versions of CN-235 are in service and
have accumulated more than 500,000 flight hours.
Design began in January 1980 with first flight on 11 November 1983.
Spanish and Indonesian certification was on 20 June 1986; the first
flight of the production aircraft was on 19 August 1986 and FAA type
approval was granted on 3 December 1986. The aircraft entered service on
1 March 1988
In 1995, CASA launched development of a stretched CN-235 as the C-295. In December 2002, the Columbian Navy ordered two CN-235 for patrol and anti-drug trafficking missions.
In April 2005, Venezuela
ordered two CN-235 maritime surveillance aircraft plus 10 transport
planes but the operation was halted due the United States refuse to
allow US technology to be transferred.[1]
In January 2006, Thailand placed an order with Dirgantara for ten
aircraft, six for the Ministry of Defence and four for the Ministry of
Agriculture.
In December 2007, Spain ordered two CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft for the Guardia Civil, for delivery 2008–2009.
One CN-235 MPA aircraft was delivered by Dirgantara to the Indonesian defence ministry in June 2008.
In August 2006, three CASA CN-235-10 aircraft remain in airline service, in Africa, with Safair (two) and Tiko Air (one).[2] Asian Spirit operates a lone CN-235-220 in the Philippines, correct as of June/July 2007.
The Irish Air Corps operates two CASA aircraft for maritime patrol duty.
There are at least two CN-235s flying with the United States Air Force for an undisclosed role with the 427th Special Operations Squadron, located at the former Pope AFB, North Carolina.[3][verification needed]
In early July 2008, the Mexican Navy announced that it will purchase six CASA CN-235s from Spain.[4] In April 2010, Hervé Morin, French Minister of Defence, announced the order of eight CN-235-300s from Spain.[5]
In 2011, PT Dirgantara Indonesia is still working on 4 CN-235-110 MPAs for South Korea Coast Guard with amount of $96 million
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