US approves Australia G550 special missions deal

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has approved the sale of G550 special mission aircraft to Australia.

Under the terms of the deal, L-3 Communications Mission Integration will modify five Gulfstream G550s at Greenville Texas for use be the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The aircraft will be converted into AISREW (Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Electronic Warfare) roles.

Although the DCSA has approved the deal, it is currently unclear if the order for the aircraft has been placed.

Should the deal go ahead, the cost of the aircraft and the additional equipment is expected to be around $1.3 billion.

L-3 had previously issued a statement saying that they had won a US$93.6 million deal from the RAAF, and that work was expected to be completed by the end of November 2017.

Special mission variants of the Gulfstream G550 are also in service with the air forces of Israel, Italy and Singapore.