Airbus Military today announced that the Egyptian Air Force has ordered six C295 transport aircraft, which will double its fleet to 12. They will be delivered from the end of this year.
Airbus Military said the Egyptian Air Force selected the C295 because of its “proven versatility, robustness and efficiency for its daily transport missions combined with the ease of maintenance and low cost of operations.”
“A repeat order from a loyal customer is extremely valued by Airbus Military and the trust that the Ministry of Defence of Egypt is placing in us confirms that we offer a product that responds to our customer’s needs. We will ensure that we live up to this mark of confidence and stand by our customer as a trusted partner for many years to come”, said Antonio RodrÃguez Barberán, Airbus Military Senior VP Commercial.
In October 2010 Egypt signed a contract for three C295s, and received its first in September 2011. The order brings the C295’s total to 121 aircraft sold to 17 operators. Over 90 aircraft are in service in 15 countries, accumulating more than 120 000 flying hours.
Airbus military has attracted several C295 sales in Africa and sees the continent as a promising market for the transport aircraft. Last year Head of Airbus Military, Domingo Urena-Raso, told defenceWeb that there are several key countries his company was targeting in Africa, including Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and South Africa. He said that although most African countries order only a few aircraft, when put together Africa offers a very reasonable volume of business.
Urena-Raso said that South Africa is a market for both the C295 as well as the A400M and that even though the South African government cancelled its previous order, the A400M “will come later” to South Africa. Airbus Military recently started marketing the airlifter to foreign countries, and sent it on a sales tour to Asia and Latin America.
In April 2012 Airbus Military flew a C295 out to Africa for a demonstration tour, showing the aircraft to South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania, amongst others. During its demonstration tour, Airbus Military demonstrated the C295 to the South African Air Force in the hopes of receiving orders to fulfil its transport and maritime patrol requirements as part of Project Saucepan.
“Airbus Military has a long established partnership with South Africa and the SA Air Force. By bringing the C295 to South Africa, we are able to demonstrate the aircraft’s capabilities in typical SANDF [South African National Defence Force] mission configurations for tactical transport, medevac, anti-piracy, countersmuggling and Economic Exclusion Zone protection operations,” Barberan said at the time.
