ANGOLA ORDERS 3 C-295 FOR MARITIME PATROL

The Angolan military has ordered three C295 transport aircraft from Airbus, and will use them for transport and maritime surveillance duties.
The three aircraft are being acquired for nearly 160 million euros, according to documents seen by the Lusa news agency last week. Lusa reported that Angolan President Joao Lourenco on 2 March authorised commodities trading company Simportex to finalise the contract for the aircraft with Airbus Defence and Space.
The contract is worth 159.9 million euros. It will be financed by Banco Bilbao and Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) of Spain and be included in the contract of the Public Investment Programme of the Angolan government.
It appears the C295s will be used by the Angolan Navy for maritime surveillance, according to Angolan media. Given the price tag, it is likely that this includes specialised maritime surveillance equipment. Maritime patrol variants of the C295 are fitted with the Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) for mission control, and this includes a search radar, electro-optical sensors, magnetic anomaly detector and other avionics. Weapons can include torpedoes, missiles, mines and depth charges.
defenceweb

C295 pushes for UK maritime patrol contest

One of the potential bidders for a future UK maritime patrol aircraft requirement is calling on the Ministry of Defence to hold a competition, rather than “rush in” to a sole-source deal to buy Boeing’s 737-based P-8 Poseidon.
Airbus Defence & Space has been touting its multirole C295 as an affordable means of reinstating a lapsed maritime patrol capability for the Royal Air Force, proposing an acquisition of around 12 aircraft. A Portuguese air force example was on display at the Farnborough air show as part of the airframer’s promotional activity around the type.
Pointing to a long-running consultation involving the Ministry of Defence and industry RAF need urgently to replace the maritime patrol component.
flightglobal

Boeing Targets Boeing P-8 Against Airbus C-295 for U.K. Sub-Hunter Plane

Boeing is pitching its P-8 maritime-patrol aircraft to the U.K. as Airbus promotes an offshoot of its C-295 turbo-propeller transport plane to meet a British aerial submarine-hunting requirement.
"Looking at the strategic needs of the U.K., the P-8 is a natural fit", said director of business development for the Boeing planeThe U.S. and India are already customers for the maritime surveillance version.
The U.K. has a gap in airborne submarine hunting. It canceled the Nimrod MRA4 program in its 2010 defense review after years of delay and cost overruns. The defense ministry has been assessing alternatives in recent months to address capability shortfalls.
The U.K. has dispatched staff to work with other militaries and help preserve maritime patrol skills under an effort called Project Seedcorn. Some of those personnel are serving as instructors with the U.S. Navy on the P-8.
A British program would probably encompass 8 to 12 aircraft, although the final number would depend on the exact requirement. The P-8 used by the U.S. could be adapted to address unique U.K. needs, as was the case with the Indian aircraft.
Airbus would build its proposal around the C-295 military airlifter in a configuration similar to one already in service with the Chilean military.
The big factor favoring the C-295 is its affordability,with a lower purchase and operations cost. The system would include about six workstations. Introducing the aircraft could happen relatively quickly once a decision to purchase is taken.
Lockheed Martin is another likely contestant. The company has said previously it would promote a maritime patrol system based on its C-130 transport plane. Raytheon Co. (RTN), developer of the British Sentinel R1 ground surveillance plane, also is tracking the maritime patrol program.
The company could upgrade the Sentinel to take on some of the surveillance roles.
The U.K. is still studying how to retain the five Sentinel aircraft in its fleet after it they were earmarked for retirement mid-decade in the last defense review.
bloomberg

Airbus Military C-295MPA likely new Aircraft for Polish Navy

The Polish Navy is analyzing the possibility of purchasing three maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), first reported by local news site Defence24.pl. The military planes, which would also have anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability, are to be acquired by 2030.
The ministry said it is “carrying out an initial evaluation” of the acquisition of the EADS CASA C-295 MPA/ASW aircraft for the Polish Navy.
The Polish military operates 14 CASA C-295M aircraft. The planes are produced by Airbus Military.
defensenews

Airbus Military steps up C295 MPA offer to UK

The UK's lack of a dedicated maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) fleet is continuing to draw the attention of companies eyeing a potential need to acquire successors for the Royal Air Force's Nimrod MR2s, the last of which were retired from use in March 2010.
Industry sources say a UK air ISTAR [intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance] optimisation study is set to soon enter a second phase, following an analysis of initial engagement between potential bidders and the Ministry of Defence. If progressed, this could lead to the latter seeking to establish a funding line by April 2014 to conduct work leading to a possible future purchase.

Several senior RAF officers were given a tour of a Portuguese air force Airbus Military C295 multimission aircraft at the 20-21 July Royal International Air Tattoo. Operated by the service's 502 Sqn from Montijo air base, the adapted transport was on static display in its MPA configuration, which includes onboard operator workstations, an electro-optical infrared camera and a maritime search radar.
Portugal operates 12 C295s, with five equipped with the pallet-based MPA fit at any one time. This configuration includes fuselage-mounted side-looking airborne radar sensors, used for tasks including pollution detection. with a 200-mile [range] radar which can track up to 1,000 targets,.

Airbus Military has already discussed potential co-operation with local equipment suppliers for a potential UK competition. The company, which he says "has a slick solution, with some winning ideas", displayed a model of a torpedo-equipped C295 in RAF markings in its chalet at RIAT.

The manufacturer has already cleared a similar combination for the Chilean navy, and recently performed airborne separation tests using MBDA's Marte Mk2 anti-ship missile.


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