| CN-235 | |
|---|---|
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| A CASA CN-235 of the Maritime Safety and Rescue Society | |
| Role | Transport aircraft/maritime patrol aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA IPTN |
| First flight | 11 November 1983 |
| Introduction | 1 March 1988 |
| Status | Active service |
| Primary users | Turkish Air Force United States Air Force French Air Force Republic of Korea Air Force Irish Air Corps |
| Produced | 1983[citation needed]–present[1] |
| Number built | 284[2] (+ > 57 IPTN)[3] |
| Unit cost | $ 34 million [4] |
| Variants | EADS CASA HC-144 Ocean Sentry |
| Developed into | EADS CASA C-295 Indonesian Aerospace N-245 |
The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN, as a regional airliner and military transport. Its primary military roles include maritime patrol, surveillance, and air transport. Its largest user is Turkey, which has 59 aircraft.[5]
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[hide]Design and development[edit]
The project was a joint venture between Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) and Indonesian Aerospace (PT. Dirgantara Indonesia), formerly known as IPTN, which formed Airtech International to manage the programme. The partnership applied only to the Series 10 and Series 100/110, with later versions being developed independently. Over 230 of all versions of CN-235 are in service and have accumulated more than 500,000 flight hours.
Design began in January 1980 with the first flight on 11 November 1983. Spanish and Indonesian certification was on 20 June 1986; the first flight of the production aircraft was on 19 August 1986 and CASA's FAA type approval was granted on 3 December 1986. The aircraft entered service on 1 March 1988
In 1994 the Irish Air Corps took delivery of two CN-235 maritime surveillance aircraft having used one on loan from CASA from 1992 while their own aircraft were being built.
In 1995, CASA launched development of a stretched CN-235 as the C-295. In December 2002, the Colombian Navy ordered two CN-235 for patrol and anti-drug trafficking missions.
In April 2005, Venezuela ordered two CN-235 maritime surveillance aircraft plus 10 transport planes but the operation was halted because the United States government refused to allow the transfer of what they deemed to be US technology in the avionics.[6]
In January 2006, Thailand placed an order with Indonesian Aerospace for ten aircraft, six for the Ministry of Defence and four for the Ministry of Agriculture.
In December 2007, Spain ordered two CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft for the Guardia Civil, for delivery 2008–2009.
One CN-235 MPA aircraft was delivered by Indonesian Aerospace to the Indonesian defence ministry in June 2008.
In August 2006, three CASA CN-235-10 aircraft remained in airline service, in Africa, with Safair (two) and Tiko Air (one).[7] Asian Spirit operated a lone CN-235-220 in the Philippines, correct as of June/July 2007.
In early July 2008, the Mexican Navy announced that it would purchase six CASA CN-235s from Spain.[8] In April 2010, Hervé Morin, French Minister of Defence, announced the order of eight CN-235-300s from Spain.[9]
In 2011, Indonesian Aerospace was still working on 4 CN-235-110 MPAs for South Korea Coast Guard with amount of $96 million.[10]
The Senegalese Air Force acquired two CN-235s in 2010 and August 2012 under a $13 million contract. They plan to buy two more aircraft for VIP and cargo duties. The Air Force is also interested in the maritime patrol version of the aircraft.[11]
Commercial airliner[edit]
Although the CN-235 was designed for military purposes in the 1980s, it began to be used as a commercial plane, although it wasn't a very big success for airlines. Possibly its lack of success was due to its 50-passenger capacity and short range coupled with high fuel usage. Iberia LAE, Spain's flag carrier, bought four CN-235s from CASA aircraft for regional routes but in 1992 Aerolíneas Argentinas (then also a subsidiary of Iberia) ordered two of these aircraft for regional routes – to be operated by its subsidiary, Austral.
In 2015, Indonesian Aerospace announced that they are currently planning a new variant of CN-235 called N-245 that will be designed specially for civil operation and able to carry up to 60 passengers. Previously also known as CN-235NG, this variant planned to be fully launched after Indonesian Aerospace N-219 project is done and expected to be fully certified in 2019. Further planned development is N-270, a stretched version of N-245 that able to carry up to 70–90 passengers and planned to be developed in 2019–2024.[12]
LIST CMM OF CN235