Cobham Australia has delivered the 10th and final Bombardier Dash 8 border patrol surveillance aircraft to the Australian Border Protection Command (BPC) under the A$1 billion ($945 million) Project Sentinel.
Adelaide-based Cobham Australia won the 12-year Sentinel contract in March 2006, under which the company will provide civil maritime surveillance services to the BPC until 2020.
The fleet comprises three Dash 8-300s and seven Dash 8-100s operating from Broome, Western Australia Cairns, Queensland and Darwin, Northern Territory, providing all-weather, day and night electronic surveillance of Australia's maritime exclusive economic zone.
The aircraft have been equipped by Cobham with new-generation surveillance sensors and advanced satellite communications systems, including electro-optical and infrared imaging sensors and enhanced radar technology. The aircraft also feature long-range fuel tanks, allowing each aircraft to search more than 110,000km2 (42,500 miles2) per flight.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
