Several Asian countries are evaluating potential platforms to meet new maritime surveillance aircraft (MSA) requirements.
MSA suppliers say Brunei, India, Malaysia and Thailand are all evaluating their solutions and are expected to acquire aircraft in the next two years.
All the countries are looking at several small aircraft platforms, ranging from small turboprops to regional jets. Both Raytheon and Thales are offering mission systems and are involved in each competition with multiple proposals, in some cases acting as prime and in others as subcontractors.
Brunei's air force and Malaysia's new maritime enforcement agency are expected to procure aircraft first, with platform selections in six to 18 months. Brunei is looking to acquire two to three small turboprops, with the Raytheon Beechcraft King Air and 1900D and Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) CN-235 among the many platforms being pitched.
India and Thailand will probably select a larger turboprop such as the ATR 42, but the timing of their procurements is unclear.
Malaysia is looking at a similar range of options, including an IAe-built CN-235 with local company Sapura acting as prime and Thales as subcontractor.
IAe is now in the process of installing Thales systems on three of its CN-235s for a domestic requirement. Thales says it expects to sell three more systems to Indonesia in the next two months.
Turkey, which has already taken delivery of nine CN-235s with Thales maritime surveillance mission systems, intends to acquire an additional 10 aircraft early next year.
Turkey has already selected the Thales mission system for the additional aircraft, but Thales says that the country will choose between the C-295, ATR 72 and Bombardier Dash 8 as the platform for the additional requirement.
Thales predicts a huge rise in demand for MSA in Asia because of a need to improve coastal patrol, traffic control, anti-piracy, pollution patrol and economic surveillance capabilities.
"The next step here is to use medium-altitude unmanned air vehicles instead of manned aircraft for such missions," says Thales senior vice-president of airborne systems group Jose Massol.
Source: Flight International
