Mark Hannant
The Spanish Ministry of Defence put its weight behind Casa yesterday when it announced its commitment to fund the reinstated programme to upgrade its fleet of Lockheed Martin P-3 Orions with a maritime tactical mission system.
Defence secretary Pedro Morenes pledged to fund the $113 million five-year project in its entirety.
Spain identified the need for an improved maritime patrol capability, necessary it says because of its long coastline and strategic geographic position, more than a decade ago.
Budget
A plan to upgrade the air force's fleet of Orions foundered in 1987 as a result of budget constraints, a lack of both political will and technological capabilities.
But, the minister claims, the past decade has seen Spain's technological abilities improve, particularly in the field of tactical mission systems.
He cites the systems developed by Casa and deployed on its own C-212 and C-235 aircraft.
"The availability of this new generation of technologically advanced tactical mission system has convinced the Spanish Ministry of Defence to initiate a programme, to be led by Casa, to merge the state-of-the art system on to the P-3 Orion," he says.
Although he stresses that the MoD's primary objective is to guarantee the security of Spain's defence capability, in this instance the maritime capability, he also notes the importance of the programme to Spanish industry.
"Other advanced Spanish industries such as Indra, Espelsa, Elco and Saes will participate in this programme. It offers a unique opportunity to Casaand to the entire Spanish electronics industry to enter the exclusive field of maritme patrol."
The market for maritime applications is huge and Casa, and no doubt its merger partner DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa), see the potential to expand into the international arena.
Casa estimates a potential market for the fully integrated tactical system worth more than $2 billion over the next two decades.
Source: Flight Daily News
