Australia's Victoria Police has taken delivery of a Beechcraft King Air 350ER aircraft from Textron Aviation. The aircraft is operated and maintained by Australian aviation service company Skytraders and has already entered service.

The King Air 350ER will primarily support Victoria Police Air Wing (VPAW) and its team of tactical flight officers who lead airborne law enforcement, training, search and rescue, and extended offshore marine safety missions throughout the state of Victoria.

“The King Air 350ER will undertake a wide variety of roles and enhance our aviation capabilities,” says Victoria Police aviation programme director Ashley Bellamy. “With extended endurance and range, it will complement our helicopters by providing a valuable, uninterrupted observation platform that will support police across the state.”

Textron VP of special mission sales Bob Gibbs adds: “By integrating the King Air 350ER into its fleet, Victoria Police Air Wing greatly enhances the capabilities of the professionals who respond to more than 5,000 taskings every year. The turboprop's unique combination of proven performance, range, speed and ease of operation makes it a trusted platform for large law enforcement agencies like Victoria Police.”

The custom-configured mission package for Victoria Police includes an advanced mission management system, ground moving target indicator object detection, tactical flight officer workstations, tactical radios, satellite communications and a data downlink. The extended range King Air is also fitted with optional factory installed Pratt and Whitney PT6A-67A engines.

The Beechcraft King Air 350ER aircraft is an extended range version of the King Air 350i twin-engine turboprop aircraft, resulting in enhanced mission flexibility. Two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60A or optional factory installed PT6A-67A turboprop engines with Hartzell four blade propellers power the King Air 350ER aircraft, and a fully integrated Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion digital avionics suite provides pilot(s) with state-of-the-art touchscreen controls.