Dominican Republic negotiates with Airbus and Enaer for the acquisition and modernization of aircraft

By Carlos E. Hernández

The Minister of Defense of the Dominican Republic, Lieutenant General (Army) Carlos Luciano Díaz Morfa, held meetings during his visit to Spain with representatives of Airbus and the National Aeronautical Company of Chile (Enaer) to explore the acquisition of aircraft and spare parts, as well as modernization plans and training programs, among other issues.

The Dominican Ministry of Defense announced this through social networks.

As reported by Infodefensa.com, Minister Diaz Morfa participated in the eighth edition of the International Defense and Security Exhibition Feindef 2023, which was held in Madrid from 16 to 20 May 2023.

He also talked with high-ranking Spanish military authorities about eventual material purchases in that framework.

AIRBUS

General Diaz Morfa met with representatives of Airbus Military SL, based in Getafe, who explored the possibility of modernizing and acquiring spare parts for the C212-400 transport aircraft of the Dominican Republic Air Force (FARD).

He also expressed interest in increasing the FARD’s capabilities “with the acquisition of multipurpose aircraft for transport and forest fire fighting, as well as new unmanned aircraft for border patrol”.

ENAER

Similarly, the minister spoke with representatives of Enaer, manufacturer of the T-35 Pillán training aircraft operated by the FARD, “to learn about their new products, analyze their maintenance programs and explore training possibilities for technicians and members of the military air institution, in the workshops of this entity”.

EQUIPMENT PLAN

The Dominican Armed Forces are advancing a re-equipment plan announced in October 2022.

As for the Air Force, in recent months, it has received six Bell UH-1H Huey II helicopters through a US donation.

It also began the assembly process at its facilities of ten TP-75 Dulos training and patrol aircraft, acquired from the Italian company Flying Legend, and completed the purchase of four Leonardo AW169 helicopters.

With information from Infodefensa

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