The 18th and final enhanced Atlantique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) has been handed back to the French Navy.
Delivery of the final improved MPA at its Lann-Bihoué naval air base brings to a close a Dassault Aviation programme agreed in 2013, with the upgraded aircraft delivered back into service from 2019 onwards.
The ATL2s have been kitted out with a new Thales Searchmaster radar as well as new consoles and and a new data-processing system for analysing sonobuoy signals.
As per a French Navy press statement: “The modernization, focusing on the ATL2 combat system, aims to enable operational use of the aircraft after 2030 with enhanced performance.
“The modernized ATL2s thus improve their ability to deal with threats in all weather conditions, whether they come from submarines, latest generation surface ships, or even land vehicles.”
The Dassault Aviation aircraft have been in service since the late 1990s; they have a 37m wingspan, a 12-hour flight time endurance and an operational ceiling of 30,000 feet.
They are likely to start to be replaced from the mid-2030s by a next-generation platform; front-runners include an MPA variant of the Airbus A321.
- You can read more details about the ATL2 upgrade on the French Navy website