Airbus DS Military Aircraft Inc., Mobile, Alabama, was awarded a $10,000,000 maximum ceiling firm-fixed-price contract (H92241-20-C-0005) in support of U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command for the sustainment and modernization of five CASA 212-200 CC60 aircraft with new avionics suites and aircraft maintenance refreshes. The majority of the work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by August 2023. This contract is a non-competitive award and is in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302.1. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity.
The C-212 is in the service of the United States Army Special Operations Command with the designation C-41A, which utilizes the aircraft for troop infiltration and ex-filtration, supply drops, and airborne operations. The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by CASA in Spain for civil and military use. The C-212 has a high-mounted wing, a boxy fuselage, and a conventional tail. The tricycle undercarriage is non-retractable. Since the C-212 does not have a pressurized fuselage, it is limited to relatively low-flight-level airline usage (below 10,000 ft (3,000 m) MSL).
The CASA C-212 Aviocar has space for 21–28 passengers depending on configuration. It is thus ideal for short legs and regional airline service. The C-212-200 is a stretched version of the standard C-22 with updated engines (Honeywell TPE331-10R-511C or −512C, rated at 900 shp (671 kW) each), introduced in 1979. In 2010, Airbus Military said it could no longer afford to produce the C212 in Europe and after production in Seville slowed to four in two years, the last C-212 produced in Spain was delivered in late December 2012 to the Vietnam Marine Police. Over 42 years, 477 aircraft have been produced for 92 operators.
