PARIS --- Having finally accepted that Germany’s mid-2021 decision to buy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from the United States spelled the end of the joint Maritime Airborne Weapon System (MAWS) launched in 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron and German then-Chancellor Angela Merkel, France’s Directorate General of Armaments has contracted Airbus Defence & Space and Dassault Aviation to submit proposals for a new aircraft to replace the French Navy’s Atlantique ATL2s.
Both companies were awarded €10.9 million, 18-month study contracts to propose maritime patrol variants of their latest aircraft, respectively the Airbus A320neo airliner and the Dassault’s Falcon 10X business jet.
Airbus has long been pushing for a maritime patrol version of its single-aisle aircraft, and as originally envisaged the MAWS was to have been based on the stretched A321neo. Dassault, whose Falcon business jets have been used as the basis for maritime patrol and ISR aircraft, said as far back as July 2021 that it would offer an MPA variant of the Falcon 10X to the French Navy.
The competition will thus oppose a commercial airliner to a business jet. Each of these aircraft has its own advantages, but the growing miniaturization of sensors and related electronics allows smaller aircraft to remain operationally competitive while offering lower operating costs.
According to DGA’s Jan. 12 contract announcement, France intends to launch a new program, possibly with foreign partners, in 2026, for a service introduction around the mid-2030s. Airbus and Dassault are requested to plan to accommodate international partners in their proposals.
The two companies are requested to focus on latest-generation sensors, communications, the introduction of artificial intelligence and the integration of new weapons, including the future air-launched anti-ship missile.
The French Navy currently operates a fleet of 22 Atlantique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft based at Lann-Bihoué naval air base in Brittany. Eighteen of these aircraft are being upgraded to the latest Standard 6 configuration, to be completed by 2025.
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