Saab’s Swordfish maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) now incorporates new mission equipment and an expanded operational payload, the company announced on May 16.
According to the company, the Swordfish can now be armed with up to six lightweight-torpedoes for the ASW role and can also carry the Saab RBS 15EF anti-ship missile or a mix of missiles and torpedoes.
The option of carrying a load of four search-and-rescue pods adds to the multi-mission capability of the platform.
The improvement is a result of recent product development milestones at Saab and Bombardier.
The Swordfish’s ASW suite comprises an acoustics processor, magnetic anomaly detector (MAD), gravity-launching systems and an operational load of around 200 A, F and G size sonobuoys. This enables Swordfish to locate, track and classify sub-surface targets for several hours, with a higher probability of detection, Saab said.
“We have invested heavily to produce an MPA at the peak of operational capability today and future-proofed for decades to come when new technologies, such as unmanned systems, come online,” said Gary Shand , sales director at Saab business unit Airborne ISR. “Anti-submarine warfare is the cornerstone of any MPA and we can draw on Saab’s unique design insight into submarines and airborne ISR, underwater weapons and sensors, together with decades of experience from our valued partners including GDMS-Canada, CAE and leading sonobuoy specialists Ultra Electronics UK.”