Vietnam's navy is set to receive its first of six Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400 aircraft in August.
Three examples, designated the Guardian 400, will be configured for maritime patrol missions and are equipped with a nose-mounted radar and an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, says Joar Gronlund, non-executive director at Field Aviation, a Canadian modification company working on the project.
One of the other three examples will be utilised for VIP transport and the remaining two as utility transports.
Hanoi, which ordered the six aircraft in 2011, has an option for six additional Twin Otters. Training of Vietnamese navy personnel using the aircraft has been ongoing in Canada since November 2011.
Vietnam has a significant requirement for maritime patrol assets owing to its long coastline and contested territorial claims to islands in the South China Sea.
Source: Flight International