Current operators of the Airbus Defence & Space C295 are being given the option to convert some of their aircraft into an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) configuration developed with Israel Aerospace Industries' Elta Systems subsidiary.
In recent months, the combination of the C295 with an Israeli-made radar and other sensors has been offered to a "great number" of potential customers, says Igo Licht, Elta's vice-president of marketing and sales.
Airbus has previously flown one of its C295 development aircraft with a 6m (19.7ft)-diameter radome installed above its fuselage for aerodynamic testing purposes.
"As the C295 is used by many air forces, we have built a conversion proposal that will be a very cost-effective for many of the potential clients," Licht says.
In addition to an Elta-developed active electronically scanned array AEW radar, the adapted medium transport could also be equipped with communications intelligence and signals intelligence sensors, identification friend-or-foe equipment and a self-protection suite. Onboard operator stations would support AEW&C and other command and control tasks, with the platform also featuring satellite communications and secure datalinks.
Flight Fleets Analyzer records 147 C295s as being in current operational service with 21 nations.
Source: Flight International
