Bangladesh Navy’s new Dornier 228 multirole aircraft will feature Leonardo AESA radars

European defense contractor Leonardo will be delivering its Seaspray 5000E AESA radars for two new Dornier 228 multirole aircraft being built for the Bangladesh Navy.

The Bangladesh Navy already operates two Dornier aircraft delivered by German company RUAG Aviation in 2013 and now has two more on order.

The new aircraft will be used to monitor and protect Bangladesh’s 120,000 square kilometers of maritime territorial area and exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The radars will be delivered in 2018 and will help the Bangladesh Navy to conduct anti-smuggling and anti-pollution missions and prevent illegal fishing and migration.

Optimized for search-and-rescue tasks, the new Seaspray-equipped multirole aircraft will boost the capabilities of the Bangladesh Navy in the Bay of Bengal which is prone to cyclones and hurricanes.

In addition to supplying radars, Leonardo delivered two AW109 SAR helicopters to Bangladesh and was contracted last year to deliver two AW159 Wildcat helicopters to boost the Bangladesh Navy’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities.