ISR & Airborne Intelligence
Persistent, wide-area airborne intelligence, from tasking through dissemination, managed as a complete program.
Platform 01 · Fixed-wing ISR
King Air 350 / 350ER.
The King Air 350 is the long-endurance option in Alpha Federal's ISR configurations: a pressurized twin-turboprop carrying a multi-sensor payload at altitude for extended periods. We field it as a 350ER, or as a 350 fitted with auxiliary tanks, depending on the endurance the mission actually needs.
Published airframe specification
- Airframe
- King Air 350 / 350ER
- Maximum range
- 2,690 nm (4,982 km)
- Maximum cruise speed
- 303 ktas (561 km/h)
- Take-off field length
- 4,057 ft (1,237 m)
- Maximum payload
- 3,545 lb (1,608 kg)
- Useful load
- 7,145 lb (3,241 kg)
- Maximum take-off weight
- 16,500 lb (7,484 kg)
- Engines
- 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60A
- Extended-range fit
- Nacelle auxiliary fuel tanks and heavy-weight landing gear
As Alpha Federal configures it
Published airframe figures are not the same claim as what this aircraft does with a sensor turret, an operator station and a downlink aboard. These are the numbers that describe the mission configuration.
- Endurance in ISR configuration
- Below the published ferry figure once a turret, operator station and downlink are aboard. With the 350ER wing and aux fuel this is the long-orbit aircraft of the three — the type is chosen when the requirement is time on station rather than field access.
- Sensor payload fitted
- Belly-mounted EO/IR turret as the baseline, with airframe provision for a second sensor aperture and additional operator position. Specific turret selected against the requirement, not pre-committed.
- Mission crew
- Two pilots plus one to three mission operators, depending on sensor fit and whether product is exploited onboard or downlinked.
- Relative cost band
- Highest acquisition and operating cost of the three types offered, and the lowest cost per usable sensor-hour on long-endurance tasking. The trade only pays if the sorties are long.
Where this airframe earns its cost.
Long-duration corridor and border coverage where the sortie has to stay up, the sensor has to see far, and the cabin has to support operators working the take in flight. It is the most capable and the most expensive of the three fixed-wing options; the PC-12 and the Caravan exist on this list precisely because it is not always the right answer.
350 or 350ER
The extended-range aircraft carries nacelle auxiliary fuel tanks and heavy-weight landing gear, which is what takes endurance past twelve hours. Where a program does not need that, a standard 350 fitted with auxiliary tanks reaches a similar place for less money.
Which one we field is a function of the sortie length the mission actually requires, not of what is easiest to source. If the coverage requirement is eight hours, paying for twelve is a transfer from your flight-hour budget to nobody’s benefit.
Infrastructure required
- Runway surface & length
- Longest field requirement of the three. Paved strongly preferred; prepared unpaved surfaces are possible but carry a maintenance cost that shows up within months.
- Hangarage
- Covered maintenance strongly preferred — for the mission system and its cabling far more than for the airframe.
- Fuel & servicing
- Jet A with a dependable supply chain. Two engines means two of everything on the scheduled maintenance plan.
- Ground station link
- Line-of-sight datalink as the baseline, beyond-line-of-sight by satellite where the orbit sits outside LOS of the ground station.
Serves these capabilities
Border & Territorial Security
Every border security problem is different. We assess your terrain, threat profile and existing capability, then configure the solution that fits.
C2 & Intel Fusion
Collection generates value only when it reaches the people who can act on it, in the right format, at the right time, through systems they understand.
Common Questions
What runway does this need in a hot-and-high environment?
More than the published 4,057 ft take-off field length, which is a sea-level standard-day figure. Density altitude penalises a turboprop significantly: at elevation, in heat, at maximum take-off weight, the required distance rises substantially and the honest answer for a specific site comes from the aircraft flight manual charts rather than a brochure. This is the type most likely to be constrained by hot-and-high basing of the three we offer.
Can it operate from unpaved strips?
It can, on a prepared and maintained unpaved surface, but it is the least suited of the three to doing so routinely. Sustained unpaved operation drives propeller and airframe wear and raises maintenance cost in a way that shows up within months. If the requirement is regular operation from rough strips, the PC-12 or the Caravan is the better answer and we will say so.
How does its cost per flight hour compare to the PC-12?
Materially higher. Two engines means roughly double the fuel burn and two overhaul reserves rather than one, before any difference in crew or maintenance. The King Air earns that premium only when the requirement genuinely needs its endurance, cabin volume or multi-sensor capacity — on a mission a PC-12 could fly, it is simply a more expensive way to fly it.
What sensor options fit this airframe?
The widest range of the three. The cabin volume, electrical capacity and structural provision support larger multi-sensor turrets, a second sensor aperture, multiple operator stations and heavier downlink equipment. Where a requirement calls for wide-area motion imagery, maritime search radar or simultaneous multi-sensor collection, this is usually the airframe that can carry it.
What maintenance infrastructure does it require in country?
Turbine-qualified technicians, a scheduled maintenance program covering two engines, access to a hangar or at least covered working space, and a spares arrangement that does not depend on the contractor. It is the most demanding of the three to sustain, which matters most in a country with no existing King Air fleet to borrow experience from.
Is it available under COCO, GOCO or purchase?
All three. Which one fits depends on your capital budget, your acquisition authority and how quickly you intend to own the capability outright. Contractor-owned is fastest to first sortie and leaves nothing behind; government-owned costs more up front and keeps the asset; full transfer takes longest and is the only one that ends in sovereign capability.