According to our sources there is currently another Grand Caravan EX that is being converted by Northrup Grumman Systems Corp. (El Sugundo, California) to an AC-208 "Eliminator" Armed Caravan. The AC-208 is 1 of 8 aircraft that are in Northrup Grumman's Special Mission portfolio of aircraft. The other aircraft in that line-up are the Alenia C-27J, CASA CN-235/295, Lockheed C-130, Bombardier Dash-8, Beechcraft King Air, Sikorsky H-60 Blackhawk and the AgustaWestland AW139.
According to Northrup Grumman, "The AC-208 Eliminator builds on Northrup Grumman's battle-proven AC-208 Armed Caravan and offers customers a highly-capable and cost-effective reconnaissance and ground attack capability with a critical offensive and operational over-watch capability in the Counter-Insurgency (COIN) fight. The Eliminator is able to find, fix, identify, track, target and engage emerging and time-sensitive targets with its 2.75" guided rockets and/or AGM-114 HELLFIRE missile payload, based on mission requirements."
These unique Caravans have or will be delivered to countries in the Middle East and Africa including these countries: Iraq, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso.
~ Chris Rosenfelt
CaravanNation.com
