It was just after the 2014 Singapore Airshow that Textron completed its acquisition of Hawker Beechcraft, inheriting the King Air twin turboprop family, Beechcraft piston aircraft and Hawker business jets from its Wichita neighbor. Almost two years on and the U.S. manufacturer is back with an enhanced product line-up, including the new Citation Latitude. The company’s Textron Aviation unit consists of Cessna and Beechcraft, while Bell Helicopter is a distinct division of the company, reporting directly to Textron Inc.

The new Latitude has been a major focus for Textron Aviation international sales vice president Chris Bogaars and his team. Due to strong demand for the new model, Textron does not have an example to show here this week, but it recently conducted a demonstration tour in the Asia Pacific region and is due to be back later this year.

On display here in Singapore is a Citation CJ4, a King Air 350i featuring the new Fusion avionics suite, a Cessna Grand Caravan and the Cessna TTx fast single-engine piston aircraft. The Caravan belongs to Malaysian operator Prime Air.

“With the enhancement and enlargement of our product range, we continue to have a good business outlook in the Asia Pacific. The addition of the Beechcraft line has helped, and the new Latitude jet,” Bogaars told AIN. He added that with the company’s turboprops, the Cessna Caravans and Beechcraft King Airs, have proved very popular in a variety of roles, especially when serving remote communities. “We’ve got Caravans operating throughout the Asia Pacific region and our China team sold 20 there last year [there is a Caravan assembly line in the country now]…and there are large fleets in Australia, Indonesia and even Malaysia now, and the Philippines,” he explained. “The King Airs in Australia are the primary means of medical evacuation and support. They have a number of applications and are able to get into short fields.”

In a bid to further boost its presence in Asia’s growing business aviation sector, Textron is investing in more support infrastructure. “We opened a service facility in Singapore two years ago, shared with Bell Helicopter, and have been developing our approvals with the various authorities around the region,” said Bogaars.

 But, along with other general aviation manufacturers, Textron has had to accept that the development of the Asian market has not been straightforward of late. “The triggers we look for in the market haven’t all lined up yet–the strong U.S. dollar has meant that most Asian currencies have taken a pounding,” Bogaars explained. “The price of aircraft in Malaysia has gone up by 60 percent because of the ringgit rate to the dollar.” These factors have been especially discouraging for private individuals looking to purchase aircraft.

In Australia the worldwide commodities pricing crisis has hit hard, but according to Bogaars, strong demand from the country’s agricultural sector has compensated for this factor. There is strong demand across the region for Australian milk, meat and other produce. “For us, selling two dozen aircraft a year is a ‘win’ in the region–we have a very good base to work from,” he concluded.

Defense Portfolio

On the military side of Textron’s business, the first production example of the new Scorpion light attack jet should be complete by the middle of 2016. Initial deliveries to customers are anticipated by the end of 2017.

Beechcraft business development vice president Daniel Grace told AIN that the company’s engineering team is working on a few design changes to allow the aircraft to carry more sensors in different configurations. It is also testing the weapons systems for the aircraft, which is intended as an affordable (priced in the low $20 millions and promising low operating costs) intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance strike platform.

“In terms of mission capability, the Scorpion can be used in roles such as border or maritime security, and there is a big need for this in the Asia Pacific region,” said Grace. “It can provide direct video and surveillance data links in real time, while also carrying weaponry.”

Here at the Singapore show, Textron also is promoting its AT-6 light attack and reconnaissance aircraft, which is based on its popular T-6 single-turboprop trainer. More than 900 T-6s have been delivered and the aircraft has logged more than 2.6 million hours. New Zealand ordered 11 T-6s for its primary trainer requirement.

Lockheed Martin is Textron’s partner for the mission systems of the AT-6, which is intended for roles such as close air support. Weaponry includes 50-caliber machine guns and laser-guided rockets.

Last September, the AT-6C Wolverine version completed its first NATO exercise. Held in the Czech Republic. Ample Strike 15 was a multi-national exercise that integrated air and land forces and was primarily meant to train around 100 NATO joint terminal controllers.