CubCrafters, a Yakima, Washington-based manufacturer of Light-Sport, experimental, and Part 23 certified backcountry aircraft, reports the company’s flagship certified CC19 XCub was recently selected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services for a new government aircraft fleet modernization contract.
CubCrafters has supplied aircraft to the federal government since 2003 for use in several agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the United States Air Force Flight Academy, and the United States Air Force Research Laboratory.
The aircraft manufactured under the new contract will be the first certified XCubs in service with the US government, and will be primarily used for natural resources management, according to CubCrafters officials. Delivery of the first two aircraft in the multiyear contract is scheduled for the late summer of 2023, they added.
The new contract is another selling point for the company’s new public offering to investors, according to company officials.
CubCrafters was recently qualified by the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer $50 million in public stock, allowing outside investors to purchase stock for the first time in the company’s 42-year history.
“This contract is not only important for us as a supplier for the US government, but also for investors participating in our ongoing public offering,” said Patrick Horgan, CubCrafters’ president & CEO. “This sale demonstrates that our newest generation of fully certified modern utility aircraft can replace the aging fleet of legacy aircraft now in service. It shows that there is a very bright future for our fleet sales program.”