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.
flightglobal
