France will purchase four of Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] C-130s, according to a French diplomatic source.
A French spokesman on Monday declined to provide details about the variant and delivery schedule. The State Department in November announced it approved a possible $650 million foreign military sale (FMS) request to France for four C-130Js: two C-130Js and two KC-30Js. The deal also includes parts, support and equipment (Defense Daily, November 12).
Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Stephanie Stinn said Monday while this is not an official contract, the company stands ready to support France’s interest in acquiring C-130Js. She deferred further comment to the Pentagon.
Reuters reported Jan. 1 that Lockheed Martin competitor Airbus told buyer nations of its A400M transporter aircraft in July that it would not deliver all of its high-tech defenses according to plan. Airbus spokesman Kieran Daly said Monday the company’s Defensive Aids Sub-System (DASS) varies in certain respects from customer to customer and includes a package of elements such as radar warning, missile warning and flare systems, among others.
Daly said Airbus has qualified important elements of the system for all customers and the equipment is working well. Daly said the next DASS flight test campaign begins in the second quarter of this year and will lead to further system qualification around the middle of 2016.