(
opex360 (fr), nov.14)
The Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft upgraded to standard 6 declared fully operational by the Marine Nationale
Launched in 2013 and entrusted to Dassault Aviation and the Service Industriel de l'Aéronautique [SIAé], the modernisation of the Aéronautique Navale's Atlantique 2 [ATL2] maritime patrol aircraft has just passed a final milestone.
On 14 November, the Ministry of Defence announced that the French Navy's Chief of Staff, Admiral Pierre Vandier, had signed the operational commissioning of the Atlantique 2 Standard 6. This capability milestone attests to the aircraft's ability to carry out the full range of missions assigned to it," he said.
The modernisation of the ATL2 will be somewhat delayed. Indeed, it was only in December 2020 that the first operational capability of the Standard 6 aircraft was validated by the French Navy, following an operational evaluation campaign conducted by the Naval Aviation Practical Experimentation and Reception Centre [CEPA/10S]. At the time, the MSO was expected to be delivered by the end of 2021, after the development of the SIMTAC NG tactical simulator and the mission preparation and recovery simulator.
For the moment, nine Atlantic 2s have been upgraded to Standard 6 out of the eighteen planned. This new version "has already demonstrated its full effectiveness during operations in the Baltic Sea, the central and eastern Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea, as well as off the French approaches as part of its participation in the maritime defence of the country", the Ministry of Defence said.
As a reminder, this standard 6 provides for the treatment of obsolescence, the transition to all-digital technology and the integration of new equipment [tactical computer, sensors, operator display consoles, optronic and acoustic intelligence systems, editor's note].
From now on, the ATL2 will be equipped with an increased detection capacity, thanks to the Searchmaster active antenna radar supplied by Thales, a new version of the LOTI mission software, a latest-generation digital acoustic processing sub-system and the TSA2542 IFF interrogator.
"This in-depth renovation of the Atlantique 2 makes it a competitive tool in the face of modern threats. Thus, until the end of their life, by 2035, the 18 aircraft upgraded to standard 6 will enable France to remain at the level of its most efficient allies," the Ministry of Defence stressed in its press release.
The ATL2, a "Swiss Army knife", will remain indispensable for a good ten years, especially for nuclear deterrence, insofar as its capabilities are used to "whitewash" the area around the Île-Longue base, which houses the four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines [SNLE] of the Strategic Oceanic Force [FOST]. Beyond this particular role, this aircraft can be used for surveillance, intelligence and strike missions [thanks to its capacity to carry four GBU-12 guided bombs]. // Translated with
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