LAAD 2015: New engines delivered for Brazil C-1A modernisation
The first set of new engines and APUs for the Brazilian Navy’s fleet of ex-US Navy Grumman C-1A Traders have been delivered.
The navy’s C-1A Trader aircraft are currently being retrofitted with new turboprop engines and Auxiliary Power Units (APU) as part of modernisation efforts.
Upgrade work on four aircraft is being carried out by Texas-based M7 Aerospace, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems of America, and will last approximately five years.
Honeywell Aerospace has been chosen by M7 Aerospace to provide the TPE331-14GR-801Z turboprop engine and RE100CS APU. Upgrade work will also include modernising the aircraft’s avionics.
A Honeywell spokesman confirmed that two engines and five APUs have already been delivered as part of upgrades that began in December 2014.
‘We are excited to work with M7 and the Brazilian Navy to retrofit the C-1A aircraft,’ a Honeywell Aerospace spokesman told Shephard. ‘The TPE is a workhorse turboprop engine.’
Once completed, the aircraft will be designated KC-2 aircraft and used aboard the São Paulo aircraft carrier, allowing the Brazilian Navy to carry out air-to-air refuelling and carrier on-board delivery (CAD) missions.
First flight of the KC-2 prototype is expected in two years, while delivery of the first operational aircraft to the Brazilian Navy is expected in 2018.
The last C-1A Trader was retired from the US Navy 25 years ago and replaced with the Grumman C-2 Greyhound aircraft. Both catapult strength and the length of the São Paulo’s flight deck limits the Brazilian Navy from purchasing the newer C-2 aircraft.
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