DEFENCE
ATR 72MP, a new generation, efficient Multirole Maritime Patrol Aircraft To face to the increasing challenge to protect the security of its wide maritime domain in the Pacific Ocean, the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s air surveillance capability will be significantly increased with the Boeing P-8 Poseidon, one of the very few options for a long range patrolling operations. Within the Enhanced Maritime Awareness Capability (EMAC) program, the New Zealand Government has the option to scout solutions to optimise the costefficiency of this system, delegating less extended patrolling missions on to smaller, but still capable and costeffective, aircraft. In this category of aircraft, analysis could lead to the civil-derivative ATR 72MP, developed by Leonardo of Italy, from the ATR72-600 highly efficient regional turboprop – a technologically advanced maritime patrol aircraft that benefits in many respects from its civil-commercial origin. A world leader in the market for regional aircraft of up to 90 seats, the ATR is a joint partnership between Airbus and Leonardo. Up to today, nearly 1,700 aircraft have been sold to over 200 operating customers in more than 100 countries, including New Zealand, and totalling more than 30 Million flight hours. The ATR 42 and 72 aircraft benefit from cost efficiencies provided by their turboprop engines and high-tech metal and composite manufacture, delivering low operating costs to customer airlines. It is worth considering that range performance, flexibility, favourable costs and unrivalled support in all geographical areas make this aircraft the ideal solution for a wide range of Pacific Ocean operators for connections between islands and the major regional hubs. Added to this is 16
its comparatively capability to land and take off from the widest range of airports in the region. Also, Air New Zealand is among the most loyal of ATR customers, operating ATR aircraft since 1994. The entry into service of the new fleet of ATR 72-600 enabled the airline to further expand its domestic operations with new destinations and frequencies. The ATR 72MP is equipped with sensors and mission systems made and integrated by Leonardo. The aircraft combines the reliability, maintainability, low lifecycle costs and high crew comfort levels of the commercial ATR 72-600 regional aircraft with a state-of-the-art mission system, advanced sensors and a complete communication suite, to create an effective and affordable force multiplier, with excellent Command, Control, Communication, Computers,
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities, whilst retaining ample growth capability. The baseline configuration comprises: the advanced, long range, Leonardo Seaspray 7300E electronically-scanned array search radar; FLIR Systems; an Automatic Identification System (AIS) to locate and identify vessels equipped with AIS transponder; and an Airborne Search and Rescue System Direction Finder (ASARS DF). The mission-specific systems enable all military maritime surveillance tasks: monitoring of sea lanes; fisheries protection; prevention and disruption of activities such as piracy, smuggling, drug trafficking and illegal immigration; Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) patrol; and Search and Rescue (SAR). Line of Defence