The New Zealand air force has signed a deal with Hawker Pacific for the lease of four second-hand King Air B200 aircraft for five years.

"The B200 aircraft is a critical component of our fleet as it will be our interim advanced pilot training aircraft and also provide a domestic air transport capability," said Chief of Air Force Air Vice-Marshal Peter Stockwell.

The contract, which includes maintenance support, is financed through Hawker Pacific, said Stockwell.

Since being notified as the preferred tenderer, the aircraft have been purchased and ferried to New Zealand, a statement from Hawker Pacific said.

The twin-turboprop B200 aircraft have been modified, tested and accepted, including gaining the necessary airworthiness approval of New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority and the New Zealand military.

Modifications to the aircraft include upgrades to the factory standard advanced Rockwell Collins Pro-Line 21 avionics and Pratt and Whitney PT6 turbo-prop engines, said Craig Purry, Hawker Pacific's vice president for government business.

In July Hawker Pacific delivered two new Beechcraft King Air 350i turboprops to AeroPearl in Australia. Before delivery, the two aircraft were modified in Germany at Aerodata. They replaced two older King Air aircraft and are based in Brisbane.

AeroPearl is using the Beechcraft throughout the Asia Pacific region for its flight inspection contract with Airservices Australia, the government-owned company providing air traffic control management and airside services to the aviation industry.

AeroPearl is a joint venture between of Pearl Aviation Australia and Aerodata Flugmesstechnik of Germany.

Hawker Pacific, founded in 1927 in Australia, "has no connection to Hawker Beechcraft, other than to represent its products in various territories in the Asia-Pacific region," Doug Park, Hawker Pacific's chief operations officer for the Pacific, told UPI.

Financially troubled Hawker Beechcraft recently announced it had dropped takeover talks with a Chinese company and plans to emerge from Chapter 11 protection as a stand-alone company.

After emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy the company will rename as Beechcraft Corp. and focus on its turboprop, piston, special mission and trainer/attack aircraft and high-margin parts.

Hawker Pacific also has no connection with Hawker Pacific Aerospace, a U.S. company that has Lufthansa Technik as its parent.

Hawker Pacific recently started a four-year contract to support and operate Australia's Defense Science and Technology Organization's Hawker Beechcraft Beech 1900C aircraft.

The Beech is flown as the Defense Experimentation Airborne Platform and used to test multi-sensor systems for DSTO experiments.

The $5.8 million contract, which has two two-year extension options, is for engineering design and modification, maintenance and flight operations services for the Beech 1900C aircraft.

The aircraft is based at the Hawker Pacific's Bankstown engineering and maintenance facility, near Sydney.