Pakistan is better off waiting for the Airbus A320Neo MPA and eventual Airbus/Saab A320Neo GlobalEye AWACS due after 2030. My guess is, Turkey is going to opt for the Airbus A320Neo MPA as it has been denied the P8 Poseidon, F-35 and Predator drones following the plunge in relations between Ankara and Washington.
Or else it's better off waiting for China to develop an MPA/AWACS on the C919 OR Y-20
And if the Airbus A320neo MPA jostled the maritime patrol market
Like the P-8 Poseidon (Boeing), a derivative of the B737, Airbus wants to launch the A320neo in the maritime patrol market (PATMAR). A new duel between the two giants of aeronautics.
It's a nice bet. But a bet that could shake the market PATMAR (maritime patrol). Provided of course to be selected by France and Germany as part of the MAWS program (Maritime Airborne Warfare System). This program aims to replace by 2030-2035 the 22 maritime patrol aircraft Atlantic 2 of the French Navy (Dassault Aviation) and the eight German P3 Orion (Lockheed Martin). What are we talking about ? The willingness of Airbus Defense to offer the A320neo MPA ( Maritime Patrol Aircraft) as a successor to the ATL 2 and Orion P3 in Berlin and Paris, which signed last April a letter of intent on the development of a new maritime patrol apparatus (MAWS).
For now, France and Germany have launched the modernization of their fleet PATMAR. Eighteen maritime patrol aircraft Atlantic 2 will be renovated, the first from 2019, the next three in 2020, then five again in 2021.
"The sensors of these renovated aircraft are very promising , explained last February the leader Naval Staff, Admiral Christophe Prazuck,
will be put into operational service from 2021 " . Launched in 2015, the modernization of the German P-3C Orion fleet should allow the aircraft to remain in service for another 20 years.
The MAWS program launched in 2022?
After having already discarded apparently a Japanese proposal Kawazaki P-1, Germany and France should have the choice between two platforms: either a Falcon or an A320neo, which has a range of action from 6,300 km .
"We think we have a platform that meets the needs of the French and Germans very well ,
" Airbus Defense & Space boss Dirk Hoke explained
in a recent interview with La Tribune . It will above all be necessary to convince the Directorate General of Armament (DGA) that this device is well suited to PATMAR missions. Because some are not yet within the DGA. According to the report of the chairman of the Defense Committee of the National Assembly Jean-Jacques Bridey on the next military programming law, the PATMAR program
"will be drawn up in 2022, for a realization from 2025 and deliveries planned after 2030 "
Within Airbus, it pleads that the Franco-German program is quickly launched in order to have a credible export program. Because the world fleet PATMAR has already entered a phase of very active renewal. Thus, after India, Australia, the United Kingdom and Norway, South Korea will acquire six P-8 Poseidon (Boeing), derived from the B737, to modernize its maritime patrol capabilities . Airbus, which estimates the potential global market to a hundred PATMAR devices, fears a "domino effect" in favor of Boeing.
Also, Airbus and / or Dassault Aviation must be able to respond quickly to Boeing. Especially as several countries including France in 2017, have joined the program "Multinational Maritime Multinational Mission" within the framework of NATO: Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey. A program that also attracted Canada and Poland in February 2018. It allows participants in this program to define their common capabilities and needs in the field of maritime patrol aviation. This is why Airbus advocates "a European solution". In addition, some Asian countries should have such a weapon system in view of rearmament in this region, especially in the China Sea.
A system of systems?
Beyond the inexpensive and the most efficient A320neo platform on the market, according to Airbus, what counts for the European manufacturer is the system aspect. The European giant knows how to do, he has already achieved success with the maritime versions of the C295 and C235. Which will make him a formidable competitor if the A320neo MPA takes off one day. This new aircraft will have to be very effective both over the North Atlantic to hunt submarines and above the ground to monitor and inform during external operations. It will also be part of a fleet of different platforms - satellites, HAPS ( High Altitude Pseudo- Satellite), drones. The Germans are already collaboratively flying their P-3 Orion and Northrop Grumman's Triton drones. Moreover, the PATMAR system is intended to enter the system of systems SCAF (Future Air Combat System), it is estimated at Airbus.
Like any PATMAR aircraft, the A320neo MPA will receive an anti-submarine and anti-surface weapons system and will be able to carry a variety of weapons in a large arms bunker (torpedoes, mines, etc.) and under wings (four points can embark missiles intended to attack naval or land targets). Its long range, combined with its integrated tactical system (FITS), will make the A320neo MPA a platform for maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare missions.
