- The deal follows Malaysia's selection of the aircraft, which was announced in October 2022
- The choice of Malaysia confirms the capability and effectiveness of the platform based on the ATR aircraft for special missions, fully responsive to the operational needs of the country
- The ATR 72 MPA is one of the most modern maritime patrol aircraft and integrates advanced defense and surveillance systems developed by Leonardo
The Malaysian Defense Minister today signed a contract with Leonardo for the supply of two ATR 72 MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft) platforms. The signing ceremony took place at LIMA 2023, a leading defense and maritime show in the Asia-Pacific region, held in Langkawi, Malaysia.
This contract follows the selection, announced last October, of the solution offered by Leonardo and comprising the supply of two ATR aircraft for special missions in a maritime patrol configuration, plus the related integrated logistics support and training services.
The ATR 72 MPA is a twin-turboprop aircraft designed for complex maritime patrol missions. It is the latest specialized variant of the ATR regional transport aircraft, within the wide range of models developed by Leonardo for missions including maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-submarine warfare surface units (ASuW, Anti-Surface unit Warfare), search and rescue (SAR, Search And Rescue), environmental monitoring, medical evacuation and the transport of personnel and materials.
The aircraft selected by Malaysia retain the reliability, maintainability, low life cycle costs and comfort of the basic ATR 72-600 model. They will also be equipped with a versatile mission system, advanced sensors and a comprehensive communications suite for Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) missions on land and sea. The sensors and mission systems of the aircraft will be able to operate both in autonomous mode and in net-centric mode, allowing the collection, processing and sharing of strategic data between operators, while providing complete knowledge of the situation in the operational scenario. The ATR 72 MPA is optimized for maritime patrol, electronic intelligence (ELINT), detection and tracking of surface and underwater targets, SAR, countering illegal activities (drug trafficking, piracy and smuggling) and protection of territorial waters. It can then evolve to become a fully mature platform for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW).
“Italy, and especially Leonardo, trust in an even more intense partnership with Malaysia and see the potential for an even closer collaboration in the future – explained HE Massimo Rustico, Ambassador of Italy in Malaysia. – This important agreement constitutes another milestone on the successful path that Leonardo started in this country 40 years ago”.
The variants of the ATR 72 MPA in service with military and police forces are equipped with the Leonardo ATOS (Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance) modular mission system which will also be at the heart of the configuration for Malaysia. ATOS manages the aircraft's on-board sensors, fusing the collected information and presenting a complete and constantly updated tactical picture to the mission systems operators.
The ATR 72 MPA inherits from the commercial model the ergonomic design which contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of the crew during missions which usually last more than 8 hours.
ATR-based special mission aircraft are able to meet a wide range of customer requirements in the APAC region, where the many local operators of regional ATR turboprops can already rely on extensive logistical support.
Dario Marfè, Leonardo's SVP Aircraft Commercial & Customer Services, said: “We are proud that the Government of Malaysia has chosen our ATR 72 MPA, an aircraft that represents Leonardo's advanced technological capabilities in the design and integration of platforms and systems at the highest level. The ATR 72 MPA combines reliability and low operating costs, all the advantages of the ATR 72-600 regional passenger aircraft and a very advanced Leonardo mission system. It is positioned on the market as an extremely effective solution to meet the security and defense requirements of its customers".
DEEPENING
THEATR 72MPA it features a complete suite of advanced electronics.
The Leonardo ATOS (Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance) mission system is the operational heart of the aircraft. This system integrates all on-board sensors, acquiring information and supplying it to the crew via an optimized human-machine interface (HMI) which allows for the presentation of a complete tactical picture of all the data collected by the on-board sensors. This capability provides the crew with excellent situational awareness in the most challenging scenarios, while minimizing operator workload and maximizing mission effectiveness.
On-board sensors include one of the most advanced radars in the world: the Leonardo Seaspray 7300E, a member of the already highly successful Seaspray radar family, features an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antenna. . Designed and developed in Great Britain, the latest V2 radar features updated processor and receiver technology to meet the evolving needs of ISR missions. The ATR 72 MPA will have a complete set of air, sea and land surveillance modes available, with enhanced multi-domain capabilities.
Using ATOS, the Seaspray 7300E V2 works with the aircraft's other sensors, making it a fully mature Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition And Reconnaissance (ISTAR) platform. In addition to maritime patrolling, the ATR 72 MPA can monitor the coast from a considerable distance and, using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mode, can create a complete picture of the coastline.
In support of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) missions, the ATR 72 MPA can also be equipped with ULISSES (Ultra-LIght SonicS Enhanced System), an integrated acoustic sensor system designed to "listen" to hostile submarines and determine their positions. Like the Seaspray, the ULISSES will also be integrated via ATOS to provide the ATR 72 MPA crew with a complete situational picture. The only case in this market, ULISSES incorporates the 'multistatic' function which exploits multiple sources of information to triangulate the position of potentially hostile underwater units.
Other sensors integrated into the ATOS system include an electro-optical sensor turret with color and monochrome cameras, electronic warfare sensors equipped with broadband electronic surveillance capabilities, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) and an Airborne Search and Rescue System Direction Finder (ASARS DF) radio direction finder.
With a high-performance mission system and state-of-the-art sensors, the ATR 72 MPA can effectively and efficiently track targets, making full use of its performance in terms of range and flight range.
The interoperability of the ATR 72 MPA with its ground station and with other assets is guaranteed by the complete Leonardo communication suite which allows the system to share the tactical picture in real time, distributing data and information in visual contact conditions (V/ UHF-HF-WBDL) and beyond eye contact (SATCOM).