Border and sea control and ground surveillance are not easy tasks for countries with long coastlines and ground frontiers extending into desert areas.
According to Finmeccanica company Alenia Aeronautica of Italy, to effectively perform these missions, a mixed fleet of manned and unmanned aerial platforms, fully integrated with each other and with command and control centres, is the ideal solution for many countries.
"The sea is a source of potential threats", says Luciano Fava, head of International Sales at Alenia Aeronautica, as quoted by the IDEX daily news service "Piracy, smuggling, illegal alcohol or drugs traffic, illegal immigration, are all real problems for many Arab countries today. Both sea and the ground borders are difficult to control with ’traditional’ tools. A mix of unmanned aerial vehicles and highly effective patrol aircraft is the best solution to provide the required security in these countries." "But an UAV is not enough to ’seal’ a border.
A manned patrol aircraft is needed to accomplish the mission," says Fava, "Especially when a decision has to be made quickly to stop illegal actions. In this sector, the turboprop-powered ATR ASW and MP series - purpose-designed versions of the well known ATR regional aircraft family - offer the best solution.
Cost effective, flexible, highly capable, the ATR 72 ASW and MP are able to operate together with all other available assets (ground stations, naval units, friendly aircraft, UAV, satellites etc.), easily sharing all information collected via their advanced mission systems." He adds that the marginal five-minute advantage of a jet aircraft on a one-hour trip when operating at 200nm from base is more than balanced by the turboprop’s lower fuel consumption, excellent behaviour at the low speeds and altitudes typical of ASW / MP missions, and better short field performance.
The ATR 72 ASW’s optimised configuration allows it to cover essentially all ASW / MP roles, spanning from autonomous submarine attack to sea and ground surveillance, also including SAR missions and environment protection, with the utmost flexibility, without need of reconfiguration.
Additionally, its high level of cabin comfort in terms of noise and vibrations, typical of a commercial aircraft, ensures an ideal environment for operators, contributing to reduce their work-load, which is a decisive factor especially in long endurance mission.
"The ATR aircraft are true workhorses in the surveillance sector," Fava concludes, "We have sold 24 special mission ATRs to date and they are gaining the respect of their operators with the excellent performances demonstrated in demanding missions over the seas of the world."
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